My Twelve Days of Christmas
by Bells of Tomorrow
Summary: There's only twelve days left until Christmas day, and JD is beyond excited. But when strange packages start arriving at his door, the brunet can't help but wonder: What do they mean? And more importantly, who are they from?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **__Hey, guys! Well, the holidays are upon us, and I wanted to write something Christmas related. At first, I was just going to do a cute little one-shot, but then the idea for this story came to mind, and I had to roll with it. And while I know this concept has been used before, I've never seen it used in the world of Scrubs, so I hope to bring something new to the idea. However, when the idea_ first _came to me, it was already the 1__st__ of December, so I had to write this story much faster than I am used to. I mention this because if you notice that these chapters aren't as long or as detailed as my other stories, I really do apologize, but I wanted to get this done on time so I could share with you guys._

_Anyway, it's the 14__th__ of December, meaning there are only 12 days left until Christmas. So I'll be posting a chapter every day – the last one on Christmas day itself._

_So here we go; My Christmas present to all of you lovely readers and reviewers who have supported me and really helped lift my spirits this year: I hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 1:**

"_On the first day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
A Partridge in a Pear Tree."_

JD strolled down the halls of Sacred Heart, a smile plastered to his face. There was only twelve days left until Christmas – _less than two weeks! _– he thought excitedly, and he couldn't have felt happier.

True, Christmas had never been his favorite holiday, but that was only because of his family who he'd been forced to mingle with year after year after year. Dan, despite their differences, wasn't so bad to hang out with around the holidays, especially when it was just the two of them. But his mom, with whatever new boyfriend she had that year, was a big old can of crazy. She'd worry so much over every little detail being just right, fretting over whether or not her new love interest would be impressed, and then on the actual day of Christmas, she'd end up getting plastered anyway, so all her preparing went to waste.

But this year he wasn't being coerced into returning to Ohio to visit his family. His mom had called just last night to say that her and her new squeeze were going on a cruise to the Bahamas for the holidays, while Dan had called to say he was renting a cabin in the woods for him and his new girlfriend. (To which JD promptly congratulated him on getting a girl that actually, for once, seemed like a keeper)

So now, he was free to stay in California; to spend Christmas with the people he considered his family at heart.

As if on cue, his best friend bolted from around the corner, bouncing up to him with an eager smile on his face. JD smiled. If there was one time of the year where Turk actually acted more excited and childish than he did, it was most definitely Christmas.

"So you're still helping me and Carla decorate the tree tonight, right Vanilla Bear?"

"Fo-shizzle my dizzle!"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Doctor and surgeon fist bumped, excitement dancing in their features as they continued to discuss their plans for the holidays. Just as Turk was getting ready to ask what it was JD wanted this year, a familiar voice cut in to the lively discussion.

"Ginger! Did you _not_ receive my page?"

JD startled at his mentor's voice. He'd been paged? The brunet quickly looked down at his pager, and sure enough, a message from Dr. Cox asking him to come to room 224 was scrawled across the screen. JD swallowed nervously. "I, um…I guess I need to change the battery."

Perry scowled. "Ya' think? Now listen here, Holly, and listen well. I know you and your black wife there are looking forward to that opportune moment where you both just _happen_ to walk under that mistletoe at the same exact time, but this is a _hospital_, and while the world outside is running around like reindeers on acid trying to get thee most _perfect_ gift for their oh-so-special-someone, do _not_ forget that we work in an environment where this so called 'Magical time of year' does _not_ apply. We are doctors in a building full of sick people, and it is _our_ job to keep them among the living, so save your prancing and that obnoxious holiday cheer for when you're out of this hospital, because while you're here, you work. Understand?"

JD nodded quietly while Turk just glared. Dr. Cox stormed off in the opposite direction, leaving the two standing alone in the hallway.

"What a jerk," the surgeon mumbled. "Seriously, if someone told me Cox was capable of becoming even more of an ass, I'd say, 'No way, dude. No way.' But then Christmas comes around and whaddya' know? He's there to ruin the mood."

JD just continued to stare at his feet, not quite knowing what to say. Yeah, his mentor was definitely grumpier this time of year, but he didn't want to go that far. He knew it was hard to remain in the holiday spirit when people around you were dying. Even Turk had his moment during their first year there, but like JD, he was good at bouncing back and falling into the spirit of the holiday. Dr. Cox, however, was not. Sure, he continued to do his job just as well as he always had, but there was definitely a stronger air of bitterness than there normally was, and while JD didn't enjoy being ranted at more than usual, it'd be a lie to say he didn't understand where the older man's anger was coming from.

"JD, you in there?"

The young doctor startled. "What?"

"I was just saying we should invite Elliot for tree decorating tonight."

"Oh…I mean, oh! Yeah, okay. That sounds good."

Turk nodded as he began making his way for the nurses' station, probably to ask his wife if he'd seen their quick-talking friend. JD shook his head, removing all thoughts of his mentor to focus on what was going to be an awesome night. It'd been a while since all four of them had, had the chance to hang out, and in since all of them were able to stick around for the holidays, JD was now more than just looking forward to Christmas. It was going to be a blast.

--

"How The Grinch Stole Christmas," was playing in the background as Carla went about opening their various boxes of ornaments. Elliot was sitting comfortably on the couch, stringing popcorn, while JD and Turk – who were supposed to be picking out different colored candy canes to hang on the tree – took to nibbling at them instead.

"Could you two actually help instead of lying around and eating? This is _supposed_ to be a group effort…"

"Aw, c'mon baby! This is only a once-a-year candy, so we have to try and enjoy it."

"Ow!"

All three of them turned to Elliot on the couch, who had just pricked her finger with a needle…again. "Stupid needle and thread... Who thought of hanging popcorn on Christmas trees anyway?"

JD just shrugged as he handed his friend yet another band aid. "Do you want me to take over, Elliot? Or maybe Turk?"

The blonde haired girl smiled gratefully. "Nah, it's okay, JD. Thank you though."

The brunet smiled softly in return, getting up to make his friends cups of hot chocolate.

"Don't forget, buddy – I need the sugar free coco."

JD nodded, reaching for the various ingredients. "Whip cream in Carla's and marshmallows in Elliot's, right?"

"You got it," the Latina nurse answered, placing a silver ornament on an outstretched branch.

The Christmas special went about playing as a comfortable silence seemed to settle over the apartment. JD, who was still in the kitchen making hot chocolate, tried not to jump when Elliot suddenly began speaking.

"You know what I'm going to miss this year?"

"What?" Carla asked curiously.

"Having a boyfriend. I've been trying to stay single for a while, you know? To get a better idea of what I want romantically, but God…the holidays are here and it'd be nice to have a 'special someone.'"

Maybe it was just JD's mind playing tricks on him, but did Elliot glance at him while saying that?

"Can't say I feel ya', Elliot, because I have my baby this year and every year to follow."

Carla was practically glowing as Turk stood from where he'd been seated to wrap his arms around her middle, pulling her away from the tree and kissing her softly.

Elliot rolled her eyes, though the gesture held an air of playfulness. "Well, whatever. I'd much rather be boyfriend-less and spend my Christmas here, than have a boyfriend and be forced to spend Christmas back home."

JD raised his own mug of hot chocolate from the kitchen, eagerly saluting her words. "Here, here!"

Before he could rejoin his friends in the living room, however, a sudden knock drew all of their attention to the door.

"Oh! Let me get it!" Turk shouted excitedly, half running to the entrance. He quieted his voice upon getting closer to his best friend. "I ordered something special for Carla this year, and I don't want her to know till Christmas day."

"You go, playa!"

Turk winked before turning back to the door. When he opened it though, he frowned, and JD couldn't help but wonder why. "What's the matter SCB?"

"This is too big to be what I, um…what I thought it'd be."

"What did you think it was?" Carla asked curiously from the living room.

"Nothing, baby!" Turk answered hurriedly, picking up the large package and setting it on the kitchen counter.

From the couch, Elliot's eyes seemed to bulge. "Woah! That's a big package. Whose it for?"

Turk looked at the receiver's name and grinned. "Looks like my buddy's got an early Christmas gift this year!"

JD, who had made his way back in front of the TV by this point, turned to his friend in surprise. "It's for me?"

"Yeah, man! Come open it! I want to see what it is!"

JD was confused, but got up from his spot on the sofa nonetheless. Who would send him a Christmas present, and why so early? Yeah, there was his family, but the package was huge, and there was no way anyone back home had the money to afford whatever lay inside. And even if they _could_ afford it, the question about its early arrival was still a mystery. Why not just wait till it was closer to Christmas?

JD took the scissors his best friend offered him to cut through the package, curious to see who it was from more than what was actually inside. He had expected his questions to be answered upon opening it, but instead, he ended up feeling even more confused.

Inside the package sat a fruit basket. Nothing particularly special at first glance, but this fruit basket was unlike others in that there wasn't a variety of fruit to choose from. The basket was full, yes, but only with pears. Really _good_ looking pears, but just…pears.

The girls had come to join them in the kitchen by now, and were looking on at JD's new gift with what seemed to be genuine curiosity as well. "Pears…?" Elliot finally asked, neck stretched to look over the blue eyed doctor's shoulder.

"Pears," JD repeated, still looking at the basked in bewilderment.

"That's really weird, dude," Turk intervened, looking just as puzzled as the rest of them.

"Who does it say it's from, Bambi? Maybe that'll help explain the actual gift."

JD went to look for some sort of card, a tag even, that would answer both his question and Carla's, but there was none to be found. "I can't find anything here!"

"Aw, Bambi! Don't you see? You have a secret admirer!"

"What?"

"That's my dawg!"

"Wait a second, guys. That…that can't be it, can it? I mean, don't admirers usually send like…flowers or chocolates or something?"

Elliot shook her head as she took another sip of her chocolate, still staring at the fruit basket placed before them. "Usually, but that's such a cliché, don't you think? Maybe whoever your admirer is, is trying to be creative."

"But…pears?"

Elliot shrugged. "Who knows?"

As the three went back to doing what it was they'd been doing, JD continued to stare at his more than odd present. Could it really be a secret admirer? A basket of pears wasn't that expensive, so maybe it was one of his family members. Maybe Dan was playing a prank on him? He had no idea, but hey…food was food, right?

Still, as JD began putting the fruit into the refrigerator, his mind would not let the subject go. What if it really _was_ a secret admirer? Who could it be? Why pears? And why now?

"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch," started playing from the television, reminding JD that he was currently in the middle of celebrating with his friends by decorating their tree together. He'd have to think more on his questions later. For now though, he was going to have some fun.

_**A/N:**_ _I hope the first chapter managed to catch your interest. ;) I'll be updating again tomorrow, so until then!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **__Wow, guys! I'm really excited to see all of the feedback for this story. Thanks so much, and I hope you guys continue to enjoy it. :) _

_**Disclaimer: **__I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 2:**

"_On the second day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Two Turtle doves."_

JD awoke the next morning feeling lazy and comfortable. The previous night had been a lot of fun, and he still felt full from the multiple cups of warm, hot chocolate.

Unfortunately though, he had the morning shift. At least, he thought with a lazy smile, the others were scheduled for the morning as well. Maybe, when they were free, they could help him think more on his current situation.

This sudden thought sent whatever sleepiness that had been dwelling in JD's blue eyes packing. He'd almost forgotten about last night's more than strange package. The fruit basket of strictly pears given to him from someone who would appear to be a secret admirer.

No, it wasn't Dan. He had called him last night after the tree was decorated to ask, "What's with the pears?" He had figured an open ended question would make it harder for Dan to lie if he really had sent them, but his older sibling had seemed genuinely confused. He had even ended up asking JD if he was drunk. This was admittedly funny, in since usually, it was the other way around.

JD stretched as he made his way out of bed and into the kitchen. Man, was he hungry. He wanted breakfast and now, but one quick glance at the clock told him he was already running a little late. Usually, he'd just grab a pop tart and settle on that, but they were out. What could he have that was quick and easy?

Opening the refrigerator, JD couldn't help but laugh. Of course. After bending down to take a pear from the lower drawer, the brunet instantly brought it up to his mouth and bit. Dear _Lord_ they were good. While it was true he had no idea what was going on inside his so-called admirer's head, he could at least give whoever it was credit for picking out some really good tasting fruit.

--

"So who do you think it is?"

JD, Turk, and Carla were all on their lunch break. They'd barely seen each other all day, so the minute their trays hit the table, Carla – who was apparently just as curious as JD – started right up on the main topic of conversation.

"I honestly have no idea," JD answered as he took a bite from his pudding.

"Well, whoever it is has to know where you live," Turk pointed out.

"Yeah, but is that really so hard to find out?"

"Good point."

The three sat quietly for a moment, thinking, when Elliot bounded into the cafeteria, promptly finding the trio and taking her seat beside them. "What's up, guys?"

"We're trying to figure out who's crushing on my Vanilla Bear, here."

"Ah, should've known. So who do you think it is, JD?"

The blue eyed doctor shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. I called Dan last night while you guys were putting in 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special,' figuring that maybe it was just his way of pulling a prank on me. But he sounded like I'd lost my mind." JD paused from his meal to bury his head in his hands. "God, maybe I _have_ lost my mind."

Carla reached over to gently pat the young doctor's shoulder. "C'mon now, Bambi. I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later. Either that or whoever it is will just come out and tell you."

"And shouldn't you be happy?" Elliot cut in then. "You have an _admirer_, JD. Someone who likes you! Why are you stressing out?"

"It's just…I don't know. I mean, if it was a random thing of flowers or candy, you're right – I'd probably be really excited. But a basket of pears? I feel like there's something else I'm missing."

"Like a clue as to who it is?" Turk asked.

"No, not that. I don't think I'll figure that one out unless the person actually comes out and tells me. But I feel like I'm missing…I feel like I'm missing the _significance_ of it. Like there's something else there that I'm just not seeing."

Turk just shrugged. "Maybe. Guess you'll have to wait and see if your admirer sends you more presents."

"More fruit you think?"

The surgeon laughed then, turning back to his tray of food. "If you get another basket of pears, we are so going to need another fridge."

--

It was later in the day when JD's pager went off, a summon by his one and only mentor. After silently thanking Carla for reminding him to change the battery last night, the young doctor ran directly to his destination.

"Ah, Mary!" Dr. Cox greeted in an over exaggerated tone. "See you've managed to find the time to do your job."

JD stood in the doorway, panting from the run. "You just paged me! I came here the minute I got it, so how –"

A sharp whistle cut him off from continuing. "Listen here, Newbie. I'm not in the mood for any of your excuses, so here we go: Mr. Cole here has the stomach flu, and you are to take care of him."

"That's it?"

"Just get to it, Belle."

JD approached his new patient with a smile, extending his arm for a handshake. "Hi there, Mr. Cole! I'm Dr. Dorian, and I –"

But JD was cut off as his new patient bent forward and heaved, very suddenly, onto JD's scrubs top. From the corner of the room, Dr. Cox let out a spurt of laughter. "That was the be-_hest_ thing I've seen all day."

"And a Merry Christmas to you too…" JD finally managed.

"Go on Newbile One, get out of here. You're covered in vomit, and as entertaining as that just was, we can't have you walking around treating patients like that all day, can we? Go get changed, but do it quick. No stopping to chat it up with your black wife on the way."

JD scowled, ignoring his mentor's last remark as he headed towards the locker room to change. Something like this wouldn't have normally bothered him so much. After all, he _was_ a doctor. He was more than used to the occasional patient getting sick on him. But the question on who his secret admirer was, and why on earth they decided to send him pears, was still nagging at the back of his mind, making him just a little more irritable than usual.

With a sigh, JD opened his locker. But instead of reaching forward to grab a fresh, clean pair of scrubs, the brunet found himself yelping in surprise. JD fell backwards, having completely lost balance from the shock, and landed on his butt with another startled shout.

Upon opening his locker, two very beautiful - but very alarming - doves flew out, right into the young doctor's face. Now they were flying around frantically in the locker room, and JD found himself unable to do anything other than stare, mouth hanging open as he did so.

Who the hell put doves in his locker!?

No, wait. That was an easy one.

JD sprang from his spot on the floor and marched accusingly to where he knew the Janitor was mopping. "Can you at _least_ answer me this," he shouted abruptly. "Why _doves!?_"

The Janitor looked up from his work, startled. Wasn't it _his_ job to march over and accuse _him_ of something? But before he could answer, his eyes fell to the front of JD's shirt. "You have vomit on your shirt. Just in case you didn't know."

JD rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm very aware of that, thank you. But you still haven't answered my question: Why did you put doves in my locker?" he asked again, voice slowly coming to a calm.

"There were doves in your locker? Huh…do you need someone to catch them for you…?"

While the birds had definitely startled the younger man, he still didn't want them to end up in the hands of the Janitor, as they would most definitely end up with the same fate as the many squirrels that used to scamper outside the hospital doors. "Uh, no thanks. I'll take care of them."

The Janitor looked openly disappointed, but grunted as he turned back to whatever it was he'd been mopping, leaving JD alone to further think on what he just experienced.

The Janitor had seemed like the only logical answer to who could have – _would _have – put two live birds in his locker. If it wasn't him, then who was it?

It was at that moment that Elliot chose to round the corner, wincing when she caught sight of JD's shirt. "Bad day…?"

"Elliot, thank God. Will you help me?"

"Sure, JD. What's up?"

"This is going to sound crazy, but…" JD went about explaining to his friend what had happened, leading her to the locker room as he did so. "What makes it even weirder," JD continued, "Is the fact that they were doves. Why doves, anyway? If someone wanted to freak me out, couldn't they have just gotten your every day bird? Oh! Wait! I know! Maybe it was Turk getting back at me for when I suggested doves when we were –"

"JD, look!"

Now in the locker room, JD tilted his head back to stare at the birds above him. He saw what Elliot was pointing to instantly. Each dove had a silk, red ribbon tied delicately around its neck. They looked beautiful against the white of the doves, and JD couldn't help but wonder how he could've possibly missed them the first time around. "I was so startled," he commented softly, "I didn't even notice the ribbons."

"But don't you see?"

JD looked at her, clearly still confused. "I just told you I did!"

"God, men are so dense! Not the ribbons, JD, but what the ribbons _mean._ These doves are gifts!"

"Gifts? But –" JD stopped, understanding over the situation hitting him all at once. They _were_ gifts. Another present from his secret admirer! "No way…" he murmured quietly.

"They must be!" Elliot responded. "It makes sense, doesn't it?"

JD didn't know how to answer this. The fact that they were from his admirer _did_ make sense, but the gifts themselves? That _didn't_ make sense. Not even a little. How was a basket of pears and two doves shoved into a locker supposed to say "I like you?"

But as he watched the birds fly around from where he stood, he had to give his admirer just a little bit of credit. Even in the dimly lit locker room, they looked very, very beautiful.

_**A/N:**_ _End of chapter two. As promised, I will post a new chapter every day, so until tomorrow!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this so far. Your reviews are, as always, immensely appreciated. It is a little harder answering them this time around in since I can't comment on anyone's theory as to who the admirer is, but I love hearing your ideas and trains of thought as to who it could be, and am really happy to see you getting into it. :) Well, enough out of me. Here's chapter three for you!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own a very large nothing. _

**Chapter 3:**

"_On the third day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Three French Hens."_

JD sipped at his hazelnut coffee, glad to have the morning off. Yesterday had been absolutely crazy. After figuring out his doves were most likely another gift from his secret admirer, he had finally gotten the chance to change out of his vomit covered scrubs. Unfortunately, the whole dove incident had caused him to be late when returning to his patient's room, which earned him a five minute rant from Dr. Cox. At least Mr. Cole had apologized for accidentally throwing up on him, though that hadn't _really_ been his fault.

JD sighed. Besides the obvious mystery as to who his admirer could possibly be, there was the other just as confusing question: Why a basket of pears? Why doves? The gifts were so strange and so completely random to such an extent where he began wondering, as he did the first night, that maybe it wasn't an admirer at all. Okay, it wasn't Dan, but that didn't mean whoever was doing this wasn't trying to screw with his head. After all, the doves were in JD's locker; a locker that the Janitor most definitely had the combination to. Couldn't it have easily been the taller man just trying to scare him?

"Hey, Vanilla Bear, you okay?"

JD startled. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Turk stepping out of his bedroom, clearly having just woken up. "Yeah, C-Bear, I'm fine. Just thinking about this whole admirer thing."

"Figured. Any idea who it is yet?"

"Do you think it could be the Janitor?"

Turk, who had been in the beginnings of pouring himself a glass of orange juice, stopped midway. He looked at his friend, clearly bewildered. "You think _the Janitor_ is your secret admirer?"

"I didn't mean it like _that._ What I meant was that maybe whoever's doing this isn't an admirer at all. Maybe they're just trying to screw with me. Janitor has the keys to my locker, and I wouldn't be all too surprised if he knew where I lived…"

"Yeah, but we already decided that finding out where you live wouldn't be too hard for whoever's doing this, especially where we work. As for the locker thing, you _have_ left it open a couple of times before."

JD thought on this for a moment, trying to remember yesterday's events. "I can't remember if I left it open or not. But still…when I went there to change yesterday, it was locked."

"Doesn't take a lot of skill to close a combination, dude. And besides, if the Janitor wanted to freak you out or mess with your mind, why would he take the time to tie ribbons around the doves? Why not just stuff a large crow in there?"

"Yeah, that's true… Man, this is so confusing!"

"Relax, man. I'm sure whoever it is will eventually come out and reveal who they are."

"And until then?"

"Until then…? Guess you'll just have to wait for whatever gifts they plan on throwing your way."

JD threw his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes wearily. "Wonderful…"

--

It was six o' clock, and JD was starving. He'd been there since twelve in the afternoon, not long at all, but he hadn't eaten anything before he left and was now facing the repercussions.

Deciding to take his break early that day, JD made his way over to the cafeteria hurriedly, ready and willing to eat whatever nasty food was thrown at him. As he stood in line, waiting to get closer to the food, JD saw who was serving and inwardly groaned.

Troy.

Ugh, why him? Why when he was starving? Thanks to the Janitor, Sloppy Joe Guy straight out hated him. Then again, it was also thanks to the Janitor that Troy hadn't gone ahead and taken some of the pranks too far…

JD approached him cautiously, doing his best to smile as politely as one could manage. "Hi, there," he said warily, not wanting to hit the wrong button.

Troy's lips didn't curl up into a mischievous sneer though, as they usually did when getting the chance to mess with the younger man's food. Instead, he was looking quite…perturbed. Like whatever it was he was getting ready to do was physically making him sick. "Gotta give you something…" he grumbled angrily.

"I…what?" the brunet asked, confused.

The lunch man reached down behind the counter, pulling out a shiny tray, rather than the usual orange plastic ones, and handed it to the young doctor before him. JD could only stare at its contents, mouth open, as he took in the food before him.

A mug of eggnog, nutmeg sprinkled on top, sat in the corner of his tray. His silver wear was wrapped in a white silk napkin, a red ribbon tied carefully around its middle. And on the plate itself sat a freshly cooked…well, JD didn't quite know. It sort of looked like a chicken, but not exactly. Whatever it was, it smelled _delicious._

"This is for _me!?_" JD finally asked, eyes still wide with shock.

Troy nodded, eyes narrowing and jaw tight. JD knew the stout but dangerous looking man didn't like presenting him with such a meal, and he figured he'd only be able to fit in one more question before the guy went off and exploded. "Who told you to give this to me?" he asked in one breath, hoping to get a name and a face to give to his admirer.

But Troy just sneered, finally happy to have something over the young doctor. "Not gonna tell ya'. Not _supposed_ to tell ya'. Ha! Think about _that _while you're eating your – your fancy meal there, fancy boy!"

JD frowned as Troy wiggled his fingers at him tauntingly. It was easy to ignore though, what with the meal he currently held in his hands. While the gifts were both random and weird, JD had to admit – his admirer was going through quite a bit to pull these little stunts off.

The doe eyed doctor took his place at the nearest table, waiting for one of his friends to take their break and join him, when the sound of a chair scraping backwards and an orange tray being placed heavily on the spot across from his own snapped him out of his reverie.

JD looked up from his food, surprised but openly happy to see Dr. Cox sitting across from him, getting ready to partake in his salad. "Dr. Cox, hi! I can't believe you're voluntarily –"

A sharp whistle cut JD off, making him wince.

"I know your heart's all a flutter by the very presence of me, Ginger, but don't go getting your precious girly hopes up that I'm actually sitting here to enjoy your overly excited company. All the tables are full, and unless I want to go sit with someone like Pee-Pants or Sad-Sack, you're pretty much the only semi-tolerable presence in this place right now. So do us both a favor and clam up. Let me eat my food while you eat your –" It was then Perry finally seemed to notice JD's tray. He raised a curious eyebrow, unable to stop himself. "Gee, Newbie. Little high maintenance there?"

JD flushed. "N-No. It was a gift."

"Someone cooked you a French hen for a present?"

JD's eyes widened at this new piece of information, happy to at least have a name to give his food if he still didn't have a name to give to his admirer. "So that's what it is? I knew it wasn't a regular chicken, because if you look here –"

"Newbie! What did I just say? No. Talking. Now shut up and eat your whatever-the-hell."

JD obeyed, taking a bite into the warm, savory chicken. It was cooked to perfection.

--

"_A French hen?"_

It was hours after JD had eaten his surprise dinner, and it was the first time he'd seen Turk long enough to tell him what had happened. "According to Dr. Cox, it was."

"Whoever you're admirer is, they're really oddly specific," his best friend replied.

"True that. Alright, I better get out of here while I still can. See you back at the apartment, SCB."

The two pounded before turning in their opposite directions; Turk to his next patient and JD to the front door.

The brunet was almost at his destination when he came across the Janitor, mopping up a pile of something he didn't want to know what. Deciding it best to ignore him, JD carried on, not even glancing at the taller man. But suddenly, a very familiar tune hit his ears, causing the young doctor to stop in his tracks.

"On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree."

_Of course!_

JD whirled around to face the Janitor, the realization behind his gifts hitting him all at once. "That song! 'The 12 Days of Christmas!'"

"Oh, I get it. Because I'm a Janitor I'm not allowed to sing Christmas songs, is that it?"

"No! That's not what I meant! It's my presents! They're based off of 'The 12 Days of Christmas!'" JD was practically bouncing now. How had he been so blind as to have missed it!? The pears, the doves, the hen. Sure, they weren't _exactly_ what the song described, but the message behind it was most definitely there. Even the timing made sense now! If his admirer kept this up, then he'd most definitely be receiving these kinds of presents as the week continued on, his final one being on Christmas day.

JD had to wonder: Would that also be the day his admirer chose to reveal who they were?

"Move it or lose it, Scooter. I have vomit to clean."

JD grimaced, but turned back around to head for the door. He couldn't wait till his friends were off and back at the apartment. He just _had_ to tell them what he finally figured out.

_**A/N:**_ _Well, at least JD finally figured out the meaning behind his presents. lol Anyway, that's it for this chapter. Will update the next one tomorrow, so until then! _


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **__Hey, guys! Not much to say except thanks so much for all the support so far! Also, I'm holding a poll on my profile asking all you lovely readers and reviewers who you think JD's secret admirer is, so feel free to stop by and cast your vote if you'd like. Well, that's about it. Onto the story. :)_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 4:**

"_On the fourth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Four calling birds."_

The group – JD, Turk, Carla, and Elliot – were currently gathered in the apartment, having all gone there immediately after work as JD had requested.

"So what's up, Bambi?"

"Everyone here knows the song, 'The 12 Days of Christmas,' right?"

Elliot chuckled. "Of course! Who _doesn't_ know that song?"

"Well, it sort of slipped my mind for a while, to be honest. But I heard it being sung earlier today, and guess what? _That's_ what my admirer is basing my gifts off of!"

It only took his friends a moments thinking, recapping what JD had received so far, to make the connection as well. It was true! Even the timing made sense now.

"Dude, that's awesome!" Turk finally answered.

"And now that you know," Carla cut in, "You'll be more prepared when it comes to receiving your presents. All you have to do is think of the song, and you'll get an idea for what's coming next."

JD hadn't even thought of that, but it was a good point. He was starting to feel the excitement everyone told him he should have felt when his presents first started coming.

"So I guess," Turk started up again, "Whoever's doing this will tell you who they are on Christmas…?"

"Yeah," JD answered slowly, the worry already crawling back into his system. "Yeah, I thought of that too."

"Why do you look upset?" Elliot asked in confusion.

"I just…it's nerve racking, you know? I feel a lot better knowing that these gifts aren't just random acts to try and get my head spinning, but the main question now is _who_ is doing this? _How_ are they going to come out and tell me? It makes me feel anxious for Christmas, which I was looking forward to just three days ago…"

"Ah, c'mon, V-Bear. Christmas is still gonna be awesome, no matter what. And whoever this is, is clearly thinking things through. I'm sure they'll think of a good way to let you know it's them."

JD nodded, taking these words in. His admirer _did_ seem to know what they were doing, and they were doing a pretty good job of it so far as well. Somehow, this thought comforted him. "Yeah, you're right. Guess all I can do for now is focus on the song to prepare for whatever's coming next."

Turk nodded, glad to see his friend comforted. "That's what I'm talking about! Now let's watch something, in since we're all here anyway."

"Ooh, ooh!" Elliot cut in excitedly. "Can we watch 'Frosty the Snowman?' I haven't seen that one yet this year and it's my favorite!"

Turk turned to Carla. "Do we have that one, baby?"

The nurse smiled. "Sure do. I'll put it in."

JD watched silently as his friends started making food for the Christmas special, getting ready to sit down comfortably on the couch to relax and forget their crazy work day. He was still a little worried, but not nearly as much as he had been. For now though, he was going to forget his doubts and have some fun.

--

It was the next day, and JD warily made his way into the hospital. It was good to know what his presents were based off of, but now he was re-thinking every step he took, the fourth verse of the song playing on repeat inside his head. Would he turn the corner and have four noisy birds come flying towards him? Oh crap! What if they started pecking at his eyes!? What if their callings were so loud that he went deaf!? He'd be blind and deaf and unable to be a doctor anymore and –

"You okay, dude?"

JD jumped, glad to be taken out of that not-so-comforting fantasy. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about my next present."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Wonder what your admirer plans on doing for four calling birds. So far, the only one they were pretty accurate with was the doves, right? The pears and the hens both had alterations."

"Man, how many birds are _in_ this song?"

"According to the lyrics, you only have two more related bird gifts after this one. One on the sixth day and one on the seventh."

"You know, in retrospect, that is a really weird Christmas carol."

The surgeon laughed, and JD followed suit. Suddenly, he found himself at ease with whatever his admirer was planning on giving him next. The only present so far that had actually startled him were the doves, but he had never been in any danger. It was odd thinking this way about someone whose identity had yet to be revealed, but he found himself, well, _trusting_ whoever his secret admirer was.

Turk waved goodbye to his friend as he went off to prepare for his next surgery. When he turned to Carla at the nurses' station, however, he was surprised to see the Latina woman giving him a rather sympathetic smile. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"I just got your patient's charts for the day."

JD looked at the charts in her hands and smiled. "Only four? That's not bad at all! So I don't get it…what's with the expression?"

"They're the neediest patients we have right now, Bambi, and I don't mean because they're sick and need the extra attention. They simply _want_ the extra attention."

JD took the charts, flipping through the papers to see the names of his newly required patients. There was Mr. Jay in room 203, Mrs. Hawk in room 224, Mrs. Crow in room 235, and Mr. Finch in room 248. A sudden idea struck JD then, making him grin. "And what makes them needy…?"

"If they treat you like they did all their other doctors, then they'll probably be paging you every five minutes."

"So," JD continued, his grin only widening, "They'll be calling me every five minutes…?"

Carla's face scrunched, not getting why it was the brunet in front of her was looking so giddy over the idea at being summoned all day. "JD…what are you getting at?"

"Remember what I told you guys last night? About what my presents are based off of?"

Carla nodded.

"Look at these names, Carla!"

It didn't take the nurse long at all to realize what JD was implying. An equally amused grin came across her expression soon enough, a small chuckle escaping her as she read the charts once more. "Their last names are all birds," she finally said aloud.

"Exactly! And the fact that there's just four of them and they'll be calling me all day? Four calling birds!"

The two were practically giggling now, both impressed by the thinking of JD's admirer and excited about figuring out his fourth gift so soon.

"Poinsettia! You are not here to stand around gabbing with your gal pals all day. Stop chatting and get your ass back to work!"

Carla rolled her eyes as Dr. Cox stormed past. "Ignore him, Bambi. You know he's grumpier than usual around this time of year."

JD sighed. "I know. It's not that I can't take it or anything, it's just…everyone's finally together this year instead of being forced to go back home. His rants have been making me feel sad _for_ him, you know? I can't help wishing he was a little happier this time around too."

Carla patted his shoulder comfortingly. "He'll be fine, JD, don't worry. You go take care of those patients, alright?"

JD nodded and ran off, getting ready to introduce himself to his four calling birds.

--

JD lay stretched out on the doctor's lounge sofa. The beginning of his day _had_ been exhausting. He'd spent the first three hours running frantically between all four of his new patients' rooms. He'd been beginning to wonder what his secret admirer's train of thought was, as taking care of the four neediest patients around was in no way coming off as a nice Christmas gift. But after the initial craziness of his morning had passed, all four patients decided they were feeling weary enough to go to sleep. Five hours later and all were still resting, pretty much giving JD the day off.

"Do they always sleep this long?" JD had asked Carla during the patients' third hour of slumber.

"They fall asleep around the same time and don't wake up till they're fully rested. It's a pretty well known trait about them, despite their need to constantly be checked up on. I'm sure whoever it was who set this up knew that."

"So I guess that's what makes it a gift then?"

Carla had nodded, a small smile gracing her features. "Sounds right to me."

Now JD was getting the chance to rest up himself, still at a loss for who his admirer was, but grateful nonetheless. Just as his eyes were about to shut, his mind getting ready to drift off into a peaceful slumber, Elliot came bouncing into the room. "So I just found out about your 'Calling Birds.' Not bad, JD! Your admirer's quite clever, if I do say so myself."

JD smiled sleepily. "Yeah, I agree."

Elliot gave him another small smile before pushing his legs off of the couch, making some room so she could sit down herself. A moment of silence passed before the blonde doctor spoke up again. "You know what tomorrow is, right?"

JD, whose eyes had been getting ready to close once more, shook himself awake at the question. "Uh…no. Should I?"

Elliot rolled her eyes. "In the song! Remember? Tomorrow's day five, so that means five golden rings!"

This new realization also seemed to help awaken JD, as he was now pulling himself up from his awkward position on the couch to a more alert-like posture. "I didn't even think of that," he confessed. "I've just been focusing on each day individually since I figured out it was related to the song. Turk was the one who reminded me before that there are still more bird related gifts left."

Elliot chuckled. "Well, I'm definitely curious to see how your admirer plans on pulling tomorrow's gift off. I doubt they're going to buy you actual golden rings though."

JD shook his head. "I hope not. I wouldn't even know what to do with them."

A sudden beeping made the two startle. Elliot looked down at her pager, clearly annoyed. "Frick! Sorry, JD, I gotta go. Are we still watching more Christmas movies tonight with Turk and Carla?"

JD smiled. "Definitely."

Elliot gave a wave before running off to wherever or whoever had paged her.

JD sunk back down in the couch, weariness hitting him once more. He found himself looking forward to not only his up-coming evening, but tomorrow as well. What _would_ his admirer do for the fifth verse of the song? JD let out a content little sigh as he finally allowed his mind to drift. He had no idea, but he couldn't wait to find out.

_**A/N:**_ _There's chapter four for ya'. See you guys again tomorrow! :) _


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **__As always, thanks so much for all the feedback! I'm really excited how much you guys are getting into the story so far. Hopefully the rest will be just as entertaining. :)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 5: **

"_On the fifth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Five golden rings."_

It was the next day, and JD found himself at the nurses' station over and over again, tapping his fingers against the counter impatiently. Only two more hours until his shift was over, and nothing had happened; not a single sight or sound from his secret admirer. Did they loose interest? Was his admirer no longer attracted to him? JD was surprised to find himself rather sad by this thought. True, he had no idea who it was, but he still wanted to meet them eventually, even if it did get him nervous just thinking about it.

"Bambi, this is the fifteenth time today you've come over here. You have all your patients already and both Turk and Elliot have been busy. What's up?"

"Have you seen anything…odd today? Or heard anything unusual, maybe?"

"If you're talking about your secret admirer, then no, I haven't. Relax though, okay? I'm sure whoever it is hasn't just gone off and disappeared. I mean, think about it. Three out of the four gifts you've received so far have all been here at the hospital. But remember the pears? They showed up at the apartment. It could just be your admirer trying to mix it up a little."

JD hadn't thought of this, but it was true. It would be strange to have only one gift show up where he lived just to have all the others show up only at the hospital. Half of the young doctor wanted to run home right then; partly to see if something was there, and partly to spy. Maybe he'd catch a glimpse of whoever was sending him his presents! But JD surprised himself with how quickly he ended up dismissing that idea. Whoever was doing this was going through a lot of trouble. Yes, he was both curious and nervous as to who it could possibly be, but catching them in the act seemed rather, well, mean. If they were putting all this time and effort into impressing him, he didn't want to go about ruining it for whoever it was. "Yeah, that makes sense," he finally answered. "That reminds me – are we watching more Christmas movies tonight?"

Carla smiled, but JD noticed the definite mischief behind her grin. "Yup."

"And…?"

"And _while_ we're watching them, you _and_ Turk will be helping me wrap presents for my family."

JD groaned, a small pout playing on his full lips as he did so. "What about Elliot?"

"Well, of course, but she enjoys it."

JD turned away to go check up on his other patients, hoping that Carla had already gotten a head start on that wrapping.

--

Back at the apartment, JD was handed yet another gift to wrap. He looked at Carla, a pleading expression on his face, but the Latina nurse simply shook her head. "No more hot chocolate until we finish, Bambi."

"But they're _hard_ to wrap. Why not just put them in gift bags?"

"He has a point, baby."

"I like wrapping presents though!" Elliot piped in. "It's fun!"

"Thank you, Elliot. At least _someone_ has a good attitude about this."

"Hey," JD interrupted. "I remember my first year here, you said wrapping presents was what you hated most about the holidays."

"Yes, and what you hated most was visiting family, which you're not being forced to do this year, so maybe you can help me out with the one thing I don't like…?"

JD nodded silently, turning back to his work. Truth was, he really didn't mind helping Carla out with the presents, at least not that much. It was a bit of a hassle, yeah, but nothing worthy of the complaints he'd been dishing. When he was honest with himself, the real reason for his distress was what he found upon returning home after work: Nothing. Not one single thing. Now it was ten o' clock at night, and still no sight or sound came from his admirer.

Had he been right to worry back at the hospital, then? Had his admirer really lost interest in him that quickly? Or maybe it really _had_ all been a trick from the beginning; something someone just did too strictly screw with his head.

But then JD remembered his own thoughts from just yesterday at the hospital. Whoever was doing this…he trusted them. He didn't know why, he just…did. Why would they go through all the trouble they'd gone through so far just to stop here? Whoever was doing this seemed pretty sure of themselves and their plan, and JD couldn't see them flaking out before even hitting midway.

A sudden burst of optimism took hold of the brunet. He surprised Carla by eagerly accepting another gift to wrap for her, but she didn't question it, more relieved to have the help and a cheerful looking Bambi.

--

An hour later and all the presents were wrapped, their job completely done. However, while JD no longer thought his admirer was messing with him, he was still undoubtedly concerned. It was now eleven thirty at night. Thirty minutes left before the end of the day, and still no word from whoever had been sending him these creative gifts.

What was going on?

"Hey, baby!" Turk shouted to Carla, who was currently cleaning up empty mugs of coco. "Where do you want us to put these presents? In our closet?"

"No, just stick them under the tree for now, baby. They'll make for nice decorations until we actually mail them out."

Turk nodded to JD and Elliot, who began helping them move the various packages from the living room to under the tree. Just a short while later they were done, and both surgeon and doctor sat contently on the couch, getting ready to discuss what it was they should watch next. But before JD had the chance to throw in his opinion, he noticed Elliot still standing by the tree, staring at a couple of its branches in an inquisitive way, head slightly cocked to the side. "Elliot? You alright over there?"

"Huh? Oh, oh yeah. I'm fine. I just…did we put these here the other night when we were decorating? I don't remember seeing them, but maybe someone else put them up when I wasn't paying attention…?"

Carla, who had been listening to the conversation from the kitchen, walked over to the living room curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"The candy! It just seems like a really odd choice of decorations, you know? I mean, I get candy _canes_, but candy –" The blonde doctor stopped mid sentence, turning to look at Carla, who had clearly just figured it out as well. Grins formed on their faces as they turned to stare at JD, eyes sparkling with something JD didn't know how to place.

The doe eyed doctor felt himself sink further into the couch, uncertain as to whether or not he liked the shared look he was receiving. "What…?"

But suddenly the two girls were bouncing in place, beckoning him over with excitement. "Look, JD, look!" Elliot spoke rapidly. "Look at what we just found on the tree!"

Curious, JD stood up from his spot, best friend in tow, as both men made their way over towards where they were being summoned.

It took him a second, but when JD finally noticed what the girls were so excited about, he didn't know whether to hit himself in the face or burst out laughing. Here he'd been, all day and all night, worrying as to whether or not his secret admirer would continue on or if something had happened. Yet the gift had been in the apartment with him the whole entire time.

Five ring pops hung from their own individual tree branch. They made a downward arch, looking not at all like they belonged on the tree, but clearly there for a reason. _To be noticed,_ JD thought silently, feeling rather embarrassed for not having noticed them earlier. Even the flavors, he realized, were picked to go along with the holiday: Cherry, watermelon, cherry, watermelon, cherry.

"Whoever this person is, V-Bear, you are pretty damn lucky."

JD took a couple steps closer to the tree, taking the first red one down and popping it into his mouth. After a moment or two, he popped it back out and smiled. "Man, this brings back memories. I haven't had one of these things in years!"

"So they're good?" Elliot asked.

"Definitely."

"Can I have one?" Turk asked hopefully.

Carla swatted his arm, a perturbed look on her face. "Turk! Those are JD's special presents from his admirer. And even if they weren't, you have to be more careful with your diabetes!"

"It's okay, Carla. There's five of them anyway, so go for it. I get two though…"

Elliot laughed at the last, mumbled comment before picking out a cherry flavored one for herself. Turk gave his best puppy dog eyes ever (at least JD thought so) and Carla caved, reluctantly handing him a watermelon one.

The four gathered back in the living room, apparently having decided on watching "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." It wasn't until they were all seated on the couch did Turk express his sudden realization. "So whoever this is has access into our apartment, I guess?"

"Not necessarily," JD intervened. "Our lock has been broken for how long now?"

"It has been working lately though," Carla commented. "Still, it has days where it refuses to close."

"So basically, you're back at square one," Elliot said then.

"Which is where exactly?"

"You have no idea who it is."

JD bit back a sigh, taking another long lick of his lollipop to help soothe what he knew was true. But then again…did he honestly mind? He had decided earlier that going home to spy would've been disrespectful to whoever was doing this for him, and it was clear now that, that had been the right decision. Whoever it was would've had to leave for the apartment while JD was still at work. If the brunet had acted on impulse, there was a good chance he would've caught his admirer then and there.

Yes, curiosity was definitely getting to him, but it was also, admittedly, exciting. If his admirer wanted him to wait for Christmas, then he would.

So really, being at square one wasn't all that bad.

With that thought in mind, JD made himself comfortable on the couch, enjoying his cherry ring pop and the company of his friends.

_**A/N:**_ _Six geese a-laying should be interesting, huh? ;) See you all tomorrow!_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **__Back with a new chapter, as promised! Thank you all again for the more than welcomed feedback. It never goes unappreciated. :) Well anyway, here's the next chapter. Only six more to go after this one!_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 6:**

"_On the sixth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Six geese a-laying."_

JD was exhausted.

He'd stayed up much later than he'd meant to last night. Not because of hanging out with his friends, though. The three had early shifts as well, so they had all decided it was best to head in the minute the special was over. But JD had laid in his room, wide awake, an adrenaline rush from the realization that his admirer hadn't quit on him still coursing through his veins.

Now he was paying for it.

The brunet didn't realize his eyes had been dangerously close to shutting until a small clear of the throat startled him awake. JD opened his eyes to find Carla staring at him, eyebrow quirked in question. "Tired, Bambi?"

"Ugh, I'm sorry, Carla. I'm running on about three hours, and I just –"

The nurses' teasing look softened to one of motherhood as she reached across the counter to pat him gently on the shoulder. "Hang in there, JD. Just make it till your break, and I'll get someone to cover for you so you can at least get an hour of sleep, alright?"

JD smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Carla. What would I do without you?"

The nurse grinned at the praise. "I honestly don't have an answer for that one."

JD smiled harder, grabbing his patients' chart and heading for the room in which it indicated.

Before he could get there, however, he rounded the corner and bumped straight into Elliot. The blonde doctor let out a yelp of surprise (and a little pain) as the two collided with one another. "I'm sorry, Elliot, you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Just a bump. Um…are you okay?"

JD's eyebrows came together, clearly confused. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You have bags under you eyes. Pretty heavy ones."

The doe eyed doctor turned a light shade of pink as he began rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just really tired, that's all. I stayed up later than I meant to, and now it's kind of coming back to get me."

"Why don't you take your break early today? You could try and catch up on some sleep in the on-call room."

"Mmm…hopefully sooner than later."

Elliot grabbed his hand to give it a gentle squeeze, smiling as she did so. "Just hang in there for a bit, alright? With any luck, you'll get your second wind."

JD nodded. "Let's hope so."

--

_Stay awake!_ JD's voice shouted at him urgently. _Only one more hour left and you can catch up on some sleep, but right now you need – to stay – awake!_

"Dr. Dorian? Dr. Dorian…?"

JD startled, instantly embarrassed. His patient, Mr. Myrtle, was an even bigger hypochondriac than Dr. Cox's regular patient, Mr. Coreman. Still, even though the man was simply on repeat, he knew it was wrong for him to have drifted off like that. He was a doctor, after all. "Sorry, Mr. Myrtle. You were talking about your finger nails again, correct?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. On my right hand – do you see? – they grow much faster than the ones on my left. That mean's something's wrong, doesn't it?"

"You sound excited about that…"

"Well does it?"

JD bit back a sigh as he politely excused himself from the room. Yes, his patient was annoying, but sleeping on the job was never good. And what if that hadn't been a hypochondriac? What if that had been a patient in serious need of help? He needed his rest, and he needed it now. He was of no use working if he kept on drifting off like that.

Practically dragging his feet now, JD made his way over to the nurses' station, slumping against the counter and scanning the area for Carla. She wasn't there, but his mentor, however, was.

"Why if it isn't Noella," he greeted sarcastically, but before he could continue with whatever rant he had planned, he stopped, taking a serious look at his protégé, frowning. "Something the matter there, Newbie?"

Despite how tired JD felt, he just couldn't help but smile. Dr. Cox openly asking him what was wrong was _always_ something to smile about. "I'm exhausted. I stayed up late last night – er, not on purpose – but now it's kind of hitting me and I drifted off on one of my patients..."

"You drifted off on a _patient?_ Newbie!"

"I know, I know! To be fair, it _was_ Mr. Myrtle…"

"Oh. Well okay then. Still, you're useless the way you are now. Go lay down, but you have an hour, you hear me? Just one hour."

"Did Carla get someone to cover for me?"

"Hell if I know. But when I said you had an hour, I meant it, and that hour starts now. So scram."

JD scurried off. Not only was he exhausted, but it was the first time all week his mentor had been even remotely nice to him. Well, he _did _sit with him at lunch the other day, but according to the older man, that had only been due to a lack of options more than anything else.

Before he knew it, JD was in the on-call room. He climbed unto the first bed his eyes took hold of and fell on the mattress gratefully, but before he could close his eyes and drift off into a peaceful slumber, a sudden "crack" followed by the feeling of something wet and cold made contact with his stomach. "What the…?" JD stood up from the bed, removing the top cover that he hadn't even bothered to crawl under before hand.

In the center of the mattress lay a cracked egg, its yellow contents spilling out and seeping into the material. JD looked down at his now stained scrubs top then back at the seemingly harmless egg. What the hell was an _egg_ doing in one of the on-call beds? Maybe it was supposed to be some stupid prank by one of the surgeons.

Brushing the spot on his scrubs with his hands, JD opted for taking care of it later. Right now, he needed sleep. So the blue eyed doctor moved right on over to the next bed, crawling on eagerly and closing his eyes. But then…

_Crack!_

JD's eyes snapped open; surprised, frustrated, and confused. "What the hell!?" Standing from his spot on the bed abruptly, the weary doctor pulled back the top sheet to find yet another cracked egg, its yoke spilling out in various puddles and onto the mattress.

Seriously, what was going on?

This time before jumping directly into the bed, JD pulled back the covers, and each and every time, he was met with yet another egg. He took the un-cracked ones and threw them away before marching out and over to the nurses' station. Carla took one look at him before her eyes widened. JD rarely looked angry, and not only was he looking upset, but his front was covered in yoke. "What happened?" she finally asked.

"I _finally_ got the chance to lie down and rest, but every bed had an egg under the covers! I lied down on the first two without even thinking about it, but then I checked the others before trying to sleep, and each one of them had an egg!"

"All six of them?"

"Yeah! And I…_ooooh!_"

Carla backed up a little, taken slightly off guard by JD's tired induced mood swings. He went from being tired, to tired and angry, and was now, if she were to go by his expression, tired and amused. "Bambi…?"

"Six geese a-laying!"

"What?"

"Six geese a-laying! Each bed had an egg in it. Eggs, like, you know…laying eggs? And there are six beds in that on-call room. See? Six geese a-laying."

When JD was met with a not-so-sure stare from Carla, he found himself disappointed. "What's wrong?"

"Bambi…how is that a gift? You're exhausted, and not only did those eggs prevent you from getting any sleep, but now you're covered in yoke."

JD's face fell. He hadn't even thought of that. The minute he added the eggs and the six beds together, he could've _sworn_ he was right, but really…the whole thing just seemed mean.

Crest fallen, JD looked up from where he had taken to staring at the floor. Carla's sympathetic gaze held him there for a moment before she shook her head softly. "Go get changed, Bambi. I'll see if there's any way you can go home early today."

JD shook his head. "This is going to sound crazy, but…I'm not tired anymore. I got sort of angry when the whole egg thing first happened and it kind of, well…woke me up. I'll be okay, I just…I wish I knew what was going on in the head of my admirer, you know?"

Carla nodded, sparing him yet another supportive smile. "Maybe whoever it is just set it up wrong. Or maybe it wasn't them at all! It could have easily been a prank. But right now, you really should go get yourself changed."

JD nodded and headed off to the locker room.

--

Now inside the locker room, JD did his best to ignore his doubts, focusing more on being grateful that his tired spell had at least, if nothing else, subsided. The brunet undid the combo to his locker and swung the door open. When he saw what was inside, however, he couldn't help but grin.

On top of his scrubs – which looked like they had been folded much nicer than he himself could remember folding them – sat a small package; wrapped in shiny, bright red paper. JD opened it promptly, finding his smile only increasing when he found the boxes' contents: Six little chocolate birds. In actuality, they probably weren't meant to be Geese, but JD knew it was what his admirer had intended them to be taken as. And seeing as how he usually went home in his scrubs, he probably wouldn't have found them until the next day (which would've undoubtedly thrown the whole cycle off) if he hadn't needed a reason to get changed. The eggs weren't a mean-spirited prank at all! They were put there on purpose, yes, but to lead him to his present; a present from his admirer!

JD bounded out of the locker room, still in his yoke covered top.

Turk and Elliot were now at the nurses' station as well, and when they saw their friend running towards them, they all stopped mid sentence to stare.

"Dude…do you know how crazy you look running down the hall with yoke on your shirt and smiling like that?" Turk shook his head, amused. "So what's up? Carla just told us you got egged."

"Yeah, JD, that sucks!" Elliot cut in. "What was your admirer thinking?"

"This!" JD replied triumphantly, holding out the box of chocolate shaped birds. The brunet went about explaining his logic; how it all made sense for whoever was doing this to have gotten him to change if JD were to receive his present on the proper day.

The three grinned, clearly at an agreement with this explanation. "Well, dude, only one more bird related gift to go, and I gotta say, man, I'm curious to see where your admirer's gonna go from there."

JD was too, but as he took an appreciative bite from one of his chocolate birds, he decided not to let it worry him. His admirer hadn't disappointed him yet, and he was now more excited than he was nervous to see what else whoever this was had planned.

_**A/N:**_ _Not my favorite of the twelve, I'll admit, but like I already told some of you guys, this was a rather tricky piece to write. lol Well, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Until tomorrow!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:**_ _Back and ready to go with chapter 7! Thank you guys again so much for all of your kind reviews. They honestly mean a lot to me. :) Anyway, here we go – onto the next chapter!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 7: **

"_On the seventh day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Seven swans a-swimming."_

JD had the day off, but instead of feeling relieved, he just felt…restless.

So far, his admirer had left him gifts either at work or at the apartment. Work was definitely out of the question for today, but how was his admirer going to go unnoticed if he remained in the apartment all day long? Was he expected to leave for a while? To give his admirer a chance? Was there an unspoken rule he was supposed to be following and just wasn't aware of?

JD sighed as he settled further into the couch. Today was supposedly the last day he'd be receiving bird related gifts, and yet he had no idea whether or not he'd be receiving anything at all.

But then again, he already knew by now how clever his admirer was. Surely they'd have a plan for this kind of situation, right? JD shook his head. He had to trust whoever was doing this more. After all…_whoever_ it was had yet to mess up.

--

It was late in the afternoon when Turk came home from work. He'd been ready to pounce on the couch and settle in for a marathon of various sitcom Christmas specials, but when he noticed his best friend sitting on the couch himself, a look of puzzlement on his expression, he bypassed the TV to ask what was on his Vanilla Bear's mind. "What's up, JD? You been sitting there all day?"

JD jumped, clearly not having heard Turk enter the apartment. "C-Bear! You scared me!"

The surgeon grinned, amused. "Sorry, buddy. Now c'mon…have you even moved from that couch?"

"Sure I did! I got up at one point to make myself lunch, and then at another point to make a quick twosie."

Turk rolled his eyes. "Okay, _besides_ that. Did you actually do anything today?"

"That's just it! I'm trying to figure out what it is I'm _supposed_ to do! Do I stay here and just leave it up to my admirer to somehow get past me to sneak in the apartment and leave me a present? Do I go to work and search for one there? Or does my admirer expect me to leave for a while? Yeah, whoever it is, _is_ clever and I _do_ trust them, but I think whoever it is also expects me to kind of get the pattern by now, you know? The presents either show up at work or at our place, and I think…I think I need to give my admirer a chance to get in." JD had been thinking it through all day, but it was the first time he was saying it out loud. The minute it left his lips though, he knew he was right.

His admirer _was_ clever and JD _did_ trust whoever was doing this, but whoever was going through all this trouble to impress him also seemed to count on him knowing the theme of the gifts, as well as to where they were most likely to be delivered. If his admirer was willing to go through all of this for him, then it was only fair that JD was willing to give them the opportunity to proceed. "Turk," JD finally continued, "I know you just got back from work, but do you wanna go somewhere? The bar or something, maybe? I don't think I'm supposed to be here. I think I'm supposed to give whoever this is a chance to do what they have to do."

"Dude, no sweat. The bar sounds great after the day I've had."

"What happened? Did you lose one of your patients…?"

"What? No. It was Cox."

"Dr. Cox?"

"He was even more of an ass than usual today; barking out orders and insults to anybody that passed his way. The only person he seemed to have any patience for at all was Carla, which pissed me off even more, because whenever I mentioned to her how much of a jerk Cox was being, she was always quick to make up an excuse for him."

JD winced. "Well, you know how he is around Christmas time…"

"Dude, I've heard that lame ass excuse all day. What pissed me off even more was that he finally seemed to be settling down just as I was getting ready to leave. Why couldn't he have been his _usual_ ass self when I was actually _there?_ But don't get me wrong, it wasn't just him. Elliot today was crazier than usual too."

"Elliot? Why?"

"I don't know, man. She just kept pacing up and down the halls, looking frantic. I know busier days are harder on her than most of us, but damn…every time you called her name she would squeak out a couple of fricks and stomp her foot. Actually, it was kind of amusing; sort of like watching a cartoon character."

"Is she okay, though?"

"Yeah, I think so. When I told her I was heading to the apartment, I invited her over for some more specials tonight, and that seemed to calm her down a bit. Guess she just needed something to look forward to. Oh, and dude! You'll never guess what the Janitor did today."

"I can think of a few things…"

"No, man, I'm not talking pranks. He practically _screamed _at Ted."

"What? At Ted? Aren't they, you know…something like friends?"

"Yeah, man. It was just so weird. Janitor was mopping the same spot for an hour I guess, and Ted accidentally spilled something there when he passed. I don't know what got into him, but he yelled at him to get away before he made him drink his mop water."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, dude. I felt bad just watching. But then as I was heading out the two were talking just fine, so I guess whatever happened got settled."

"Can't say I'm jealous of your work day, buddy."

"Tell me about it. Alright, I'm going to the bathroom, but the minute I get out we are heading directly for the bar."

JD stood from the couch and stretched, happy to finally have something to do. "I'm all for that plan, C-Bear. Those appletini's are calling my name."

--

It was only seven at night when the two got back to the apartment, and while JD had honestly not planned on getting drunk, he had, had himself just one appletini too many.

Turk, who was only slightly tipsy, but all together fine, helped support his friend into the apartment, shaking his head and grinning as JD broke out into random song.

"I gotta secret admiiiiiiiirer! I got – I gotta secreted adMIIIIIIIIRER!"

"Yeah, buddy, you do, but Carla and Elliot are getting here around ten thirty, and until that happens, you really gotta sleep this off."

"Sleep what off? Off…off…offsies…" JD burst into a fit of giggles then, apparently entertained by his own inability to form a proper sentence.

"Sleep _that_ off."

Turk carefully led JD to his bed, watching with amusement as the brunet fell haphazardly down onto the mattress. "The good thing about you, dude, is that while you're pretty much a light weight, you're also pretty good at getting back to being sober, so I'll wake you up a half hour before Carla and Elliot come, alright?"

"Mmm…okay, C-Bear. Tell them I said hi…"

"Dude, you'll be up by then. With a hangover, yeah, but still up."

JD wasn't listening though. He was already out like a light.

--

Thirty minutes after getting woken up by Turk, JD still lay in the bed, his hangover pounding fiercely against his skull. He hadn't gone to the bar with the intention of getting drunk, but there was a new bartender there that made _amazing_ appletini's, and while normally he could handle at least three and come out only tipsy, he realized a little too late that the bartender did not agree with his own personal motto, "Easy on the tini."

A soft knock reached his ears then. JD let out a miserable sounding, "Come in," silently thanking whoever it was for not pounding on the door.

Elliot poked her head in cautiously, peering over at the bed where one of her best friends lay. "JD…?"

"Hang over," he mumbled. "Bad one."

While his face was still buried in the pillow, he could hear Elliot give a short snort of laughter. "Yeah, Turk told us about your accidental drunken escapade. And your secret admirer song."

JD's eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't remember singing anything about his admirer, but he believed her when she said it. After all, he'd been thinking about his gift-giver pretty much the whole time when he and Turk were at the bar. "I don't remember," he finally answered, "But I believe you anyway."

Elliot walked over to the bed then, sitting down on the edge to gently comb her fingers through the tangled, dark chocolate locks. JD was surprised by the gesture, but hummed appreciatively. Her touch felt good against his pounding skull. "Carla, Turk and I are gonna make some food, okay? I brought over Christmas cookies for the four of us to eat tonight, but go get a shower and wake yourself up a bit. It'll help with the hangover too."

JD already knew that showers were good for hangovers, but he didn't want to tell her that. Elliot was usually on the receiving end of their relationship more than she was the giving, and whatever about him in his current situation that had caused this act of mother-like quality he usually found in Carla to come shining through, well…he wasn't about to mess it up. "Mmm…okay. That sounds good."

Elliot smiled. "Alright, we'll be out in the kitchen."

JD nodded, finally cracking an eye open to watch her leave. She smelled like gingerbread men, he thought with a giggle.

Slowly, JD stood from his place on the bed, dragging his feet to the bathroom in order to take what he expected was going to be the longest shower of his life.

He turned the knob carelessly, still in a haze from his hangover, but before he went to climb into the shower itself, he saw them.

Seven swans were painted – though not very well – on the walls of JD's shower. It made sense, JD realized upon seeing them, that his admirer picked the shower to go along with the swimming part of the song, but what _didn't_ make sense, was what was painted in the center of each individual bird. "Guys!" JD shouted, glad he hadn't yet undressed himself. "Guys, come here!"

In a heart beat, his friends were at his side. "What happened? God, I heard you scream and thought you fell from your hangover!" Carla half shouted, worry evident in her tone.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but look!" JD pointed to the shower walls before them excitedly, his hangover suddenly forgotten. "Seven swans a-swimming!"

"But how is that a present? And what's with the numbers?" Turk asked.

"I don't know. A code or something? A puzzle? Maybe once I figure it out, that'll lead me to the _real_ present."

Without even asking him too, Turk ran to the other room to grab a pen and paper. He handed these to JD, who went about writing down the numbers in order, making sure that he wouldn't forget them.

"That better be washable paint…" Carla mumbled.

"Relax, baby. I'm sure whoever JD's admirer is isn't that irresponsible."

JD nodded his agreement, placing the piece of paper with the mysterious numbers down on the bathroom sink. "Alright, guys, I'm getting a shower. I'll be out soon though, alright?"

The three nodded, leaving he bathroom to give their friend his privacy.

Before hopping into the stall, JD stared at the paper again, mind racing wildly with what the numbers could mean. While it was true he didn't know what they would or could lead too, he did know one thing: He'd made the right choice about leaving the apartment earlier. He'd given his admirer the chance to proceed, and thankfully, JD thought as he climbed into the shower, whoever it was had taken it.

_**A/N:**_ _Well, hope you all enjoyed it. :) Until tomorrow!_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: **__As always, thanks so much for all the great reviews. I love hearing all the different guesses and theories as to who you think JD's admirer could be. On a quick note, as I know a lot of you have asked this already, but yes - I wrote this before posting it. In since I got the idea on the first of December, I knew I had to start it right away if I wanted to have a new chapter up each day to match "The 12 Days of Christmas." (Though I do go back and edit each chapter before posting. lol) Well, that's it from me. Here's chapter eight for ya'!_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own a very large nothing. _

**Chapter 8:**

"_On the eighth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Eight maids a-milking."_

JD practically skipped into work that morning; hangover gone and feeling refreshed from his day off. Not only that, but he was still on a high from guessing what it was his admirer had been waiting for him to do the day before. He'd picked up on the various signals and left, leaving his apartment open and free for whoever it was to come in and paint – which did turn out to be removable – swans onto the walls of his shower.

Still, the seven numbers puzzled him. The post-it note JD had scribbled them on was stuck safely to the top of his night table back home, yet he could see the numbers in his mind like they were right there in front of him.

After spending the night eating Christmas cookies and watching more specials with his friends, he'd gone to his room to try and give some meaning to the numbers. First, he'd gone for the classic, "Maybe each number stands for a letter in the alphabet and that'll give me their name," bit, but it turned out to make absolutely no sense. Besides, he was now pretty certain that whoever his admirer was wanted to wait till Christmas to reveal who they were. Giving him the letters to their name would completely contradict that.

So JD eventually put the small piece of paper aside, saving it for whenever, _if_ ever, he'd need it again.

Now at work, the brunet was definitely curious as to how the day would unfold. At least, he thought with a relieved sigh, his gifts would no longer involve creatures from the bird kingdom. Not that they'd been bad gifts, of course, he was just glad to look forward to something other than feathers.

"Hey, V-Bear. Wanna go to Coffee Bucks and grab some coffee?"

JD smiled. "You bet, C-Bear."

--

"So I wonder how my admirer's gonna pull off 'Eight maids a-milking," JD said between a sip of warm hazelnut.

"Maybe they'll send you eight pictures of some beautiful _lovelies._ You know what I'm sayin'?"

A sudden smack to the back of Turk's head startled them both. "You better not be thinking about anyone's 'lovelies' other than my own."

"Of course, baby!" the surgeon replied quickly.

Carla walked on to the nurses' station, leaving the two friends to further contemplate on what his present could possibly turn out to be.

JD, who had been so lost in his thoughts, nearly jumped a whole foot when his pager beeped loudly at him. "OBGYN?" he read aloud, confused. "Why am I being asked to go there?"

Turk shrugged. "Depends what it is. Have you talked to any patients there?"

"Just a few, but I don't know why they'd need me there. It's not my specialty."

"Yeah, but if you talked to a patient there and they liked your bedside manner, you could be called there just as a source of comfort for whoever asked about you. Maybe it was a bad labor…?"

JD grimaced. "I hope not…Alright, I gotta go. See you later, Turk."

The surgeon gave a half wave, half salute as he watched his best friend run off. "Peace out!"

--

Sooner than he thought he'd be, JD found himself in the maternity ward. He stopped at the front desk there, realizing that his page hadn't given him a specific room to go to. "Uh…I was paged?"

The nurse behind the counter looked up at him and smiled. "Dr. Dorian I take it?"

"Um…yeah. So, uh…why was I called?"

"You're needed in room 111."

"Okay… Is that all?"

"For now? Yes. But I would keep an ear out for your pager, if I were you.

JD, confused by her words and still wondering _why_ he was needed in the first place, made his way to room 111. When he got there, he couldn't help the slight blush that came to his cheeks. It'd been stupid of him to enter the room of a mother who had just had her baby, especially when said mother could be in the middle of breast feeding.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll come back when you're –"

The woman gave a pleasant chuckle. "Relax, doctor. It's not like I _don't_ have a blanket draped over them. Now, I assume you're here for your present?"

"I…what?"

The woman laughed once more as she reached over to the small nightstand, picking up a neatly wrapped package. "For you!" she said cheerily, handing it out to him.

JD took it slowly, still feeling rather thrown. "Um, thanks! Can I ask why you're giving me a present?"

"Me? Don't be silly, Dr. Dorian! It's not from me at all."

"What? Then why – _Oh!_" JD's blush only darkened as he realized yet again how blind he'd been. The present wasn't from the patient at all, but from his secret admirer! "Am I supposed to open it now?"

"I believe so, yes. It'll make the rest of your present easier to understand if you open them as you go, or at least that's what I was told."

No longer feeling the need to ask who it was that told her, JD tore through the wrapping paper curiously. Inside laid a neatly folded, collar shirt; its color ivy green.

Before JD could comment, his pager went off abruptly. He pulled it out of his pocket immediately to read the very simple message: Room 112. "I gotta go. It was nice meeting you! And, um…thanks!"

The woman laughed one more time before waving her own goodbye. "You too, and have fun!"

JD went into the next room, and, once again, found a mother breast feeding her newborn child. This time though, he expected it. He waved to the woman shyly while the eighth verse of the song played yet again inside of his head: Eight maids a-milking! "Um, hi there. I…you have a present for me, I think?"

The woman reached over for the wrapped up parcel, smiling as she handed it over to JD. "Enjoy," she commented softly.

JD opened this one even quicker than the last, his curiosity growing with each passing second. This particular package held a black suit jacket. A nice one too.

As the brunet doctor expected, his pager chose that moment to go off. JD didn't have to look before knowing where it was he was supposed to go: Room 113. And, if the pattern kept up, he'd be receiving gifts all the way up to Room 118. JD smiled.

His admirer was undoubtedly impressive.

--

JD half walked, half juggled, to Room 118. He now carried an ivy colored shirt, a black suit jacket, a pair of black suit pants, a maroon tie with stripes the color of ivy, a black dress shoe for his right foot, a black dress shoe for his left foot, and a small container of Warm Vanilla Shampoo.

JD entered the final room panting, placing his stuff down as neatly as possible before giving the nursing mother a tired but friendly wave. "I'm, well…you probably know by that entrance, huh?"

The woman across from him laughed. "Kind of figured. Anyway, here you go; your last present of the day."

JD took the last one eagerly, curious to see what it was his admirer honestly thought his ensemble could be missing at this point. But when JD saw what it was, he immediately understood its purpose. After all, his outfit definitely had a Christmas theme going on. Why not complete the look?

The small, plastic case held a Christmas corsage made of both holly and ivy. It sat serenely in its container, making JD smile harder than he already was. He had to go find his friends and tell them about his newest present. "Goodbye, and thank you!"

The woman smiled warmly. "No problem, and Merry Christmas!"

--

Later that night, JD laid out his new ensemble on top of his bed for his friends to stare at and ponder. Yes, it was obvious it was a nice outfit. And yes, it was most definitely Christmas themed, but besides those two obvious answers laid an even more obvious question: Why an outfit? Where, or rather, when was he supposed to wear it?

"Should I come dressed to work in this tomorrow?" JD asked aloud. "Or maybe where some of that shampoo? I smelled it already, you know. It's very good…"

Carla rolled her eyes playfully as the other two just grinned.

After another moment's contemplation, the Latina woman spoke. "I wouldn't wear this tomorrow, Bambi. I think it's like your gift with the swans; you'll probably need this outfit, like the numbers you wrote down yesterday, but not now. For later."

"But when?"

"Who knows? But I'm sure your admirer will let you know when they're ready."

"Yeah, you're right," JD answered. "Still, you can't blame me for wondering."

"Dude, this isn't even _happening_ to me and I'm wondering. Whoever's doing this must really like you a lot, V-Bear."

It was a thought JD hadn't had the courage to say out loud, and even when it entered into his thinking, he'd push it away almost instantly. Whoever it was clearly liked JD enough to want to go to great lengths to impress him, but what if JD didn't end up feeling the same way? He'd crush somebody who worked so hard at showing him how much they cared.

But then again, wouldn't JD give whoever this was a chance after everything they went through to show the young doctor how they felt about him?

Deciding it was time to put his new clothes away, JD made his way over to the closet for some hangers. It was definitely going to be an interesting Christmas.

_**A/N: **__Hope you enjoyed chapter eight. As promised, a new chapter will be up tomorrow, so until then!_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: (Important) **__Hey, guys. Back with a new chapter, as promised! :) Okay, before we begin, I want to answer a couple of very good questions/concerns as pertaining to what I usually write about. It's true that I've never written JD/Elliot, and it's also true that I've never written slash. Looking back, I realized myself that I never wrote a story based on any particular pairing, so basically, the admirer could be anyone. If it is JD/Elliot, I won't suddenly start writing only JD/Elliot after this is done. And if it is slash, I won't suddenly stop doing the mentor/protégé – father/son relationship with those two. (I probably couldn't even if I tried. lol) But like I said, it could be _anyone_, which helps add to the mystery. ;) Okay, I hope that answered your questions and concerns. Don't hesitate to ask anything else if you're still wondering! (Though I obviously won't be able to answer questions about who the admirer is, as that would spoil the ending) Anyway, that's it from me. Enjoy the next chapter!_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own a very large nothing. _

**Chapter 9:**

"_On the ninth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Nine ladies dancing."_

JD walked into work the next morning, bright eyed and cheerful. Today's gift, according to the song, was going to be based off of the lyric, "Nine ladies dancing," and he found himself, as always, very curious as to how his admirer planned on pulling this one off.

Just before reaching the nurses' station though, a wet spot on the floor sent him flying. JD landed on his back with a thud, letting out a groan of pain on impact. When he opened his eyes, he was met with an amused smirk.

"Wet floor."

"You know, you've pulled this one more times than I can remember. I think you're loosing your creativity."

The Janitor's smirk only widened. "I'm a very creative person, Scooter. You're just an idiot."

"So you've told me…"

The Janitor bent down a little, offering his hand to the doctor sprawled out on the linoleum. JD gripped it firmly, only to be let go, his back meeting wet tiles once again.

"Ha! Never gets old," the taller man barked with laughter.

"And I really don't know why I keep on believing that you'd actually help me up…"

"Like I said – you're an idiot."

JD watched from his position on the floor as the Janitor walked away, spinning his mop like it was a patton. The young man groaned. He couldn't help but hope his admirer would reveal his gift as soon as possible. He could really use the pick-me-up. …No pun intended.

--

After changing into a new pair of Scrubs, JD scurried off to his newest patient's room. Dr. Cox stood there waiting for him; arms crossed and scowl in place. "Tinsel! I paged you five minutes ago. What the hell took you so damn long? And don't even try using that 'I was singing and I fell,' excuse again."

"I did fall, but I wasn't singing. It was the Janitor."

"Sure it was. Anyway, this here is Mr. Wenceslas. Mr. Wenceslas, this is our finest doctress on staff."

JD wasn't sure whether to be offended at the subtle girl reference or excited that Dr. Cox referred to him as "finest."

"Anyway, Newbie, Mr. Wenceslas has hypothermia after falling through some ice."

"Oh!" JD asked excitedly. "What were you doing?"

"…Skating," the patient answered dryly.

"Right."

The curly haired doctor was now massaging his forehead, clearly annoyed by the current conversation. "Just take care of him, Newbie. No annoying questions. _I _may be forced to put up with them on a daily basis, but your patients shouldn't have too."

JD nodded silently as Dr. Cox stormed out of the room. The brunet was surprised when his patient started speaking. "Sorry."

"What?"

"Sorry. For sounding attitudinal. I'm just upset that I'm in here so close to Christmas, that's all. I wouldn't have answered like that if I knew he was going to tear into you."

JD smiled sympathetically. "It's okay, and don't worry about it. I'm used to that from him. And as far as being in here so close to Christmas, well, I can already tell you that your particular case of hypothermia isn't fatal."

"No long lasting repercussions even…?"

"Nope! You'll be out of here by the end of the day. Just, you know…be careful on the ice."

Mr. Wenceslas smiled. "Thanks, Dr. Dorian."

"No problem. I'll check up on you later, okay?"

Mr. Wenceslas nodded his agreement and JD left the room, heading over to the nurses' station to pick up another chart. And, according to his watch, it was around the time where he, Turk, Carla, and Elliot usually gathered around the station for a minute or so of conversation; a quick way to just catch up and see how everyone's day had been so far. But when he got there, a group of very, _very_ attractive nurses were all leaning against the front of the counter, grinning with mischievous little glints in their eyes. JD recognized them vaguely as the new nurses that were hired for the holiday season, seeing how hospitals were statistically at it's busiest around Christmas time.

And _man,_ were they fine!

JD shook his head. He couldn't get distracted though. He had work to do. "Um…hi, ladies. Could you, uh, move aside for a second?"

"What are you willing to give us if we do?" the one nearest the center purred.

"Um…"

"No answer? Aw, well that's alright. We'll move anyway, but first, we have a little _surprise_ for you."

"I…what now?"

JD was suddenly being thrust into the nearest chair, forced to sit down and stare open mouthed at all – at all nine nurses.

Nine nurses!

But wait, that didn't make sense, did it? Sure, there were nine ladies – nine very _attractive_ ladies – right in front of him, but it wasn't like they were dancing or anything.

Oh, wait a minute. Yes they were.

All nine were suddenly dancing around him, simulating something to that of a belly dancer. It was only when they circled him completely did he realize the color of the nurses' scrubs, red and green, and how conveniently _tight_ they fit against them.

As hot as it was, JD was glad none of them were actually touching him, and even more glad that all of them, despite their little show, were wearing clothes. Nothing against the ladies of course, but he was in the middle of a hospital, right in front of the nurses' station, of all places. If he got, well, _excited,_ he'd have no way of escaping.

Speaking of being in the middle of the hospital, why hadn't anyone come by to stop this yet? There was no way this followed hospital policy…

A sudden tingling made JD cross his legs, a small whimper escaping him as he did so. No! No, no, no, no! He didn't want to get turned on right here! Not when everyone could see him! Okay, okay – the show was fun, but it had to stop before he exploded! Why hadn't anybody stopped it yet?

"What thee _hell_ is going on here?"

The girls stopped abruptly as Kelso stormed up to the gathering. When the nurses finally moved aside, giving JD room to see beyond their performance, there was definitely a number of people looking on curiously. Well, of _course_ no one came to stop the ladies! To them, it just would've looked as if they'd been playing a sexy version of ring-a-round-the-rosy, as JD had been completely out of sight from any and all on-lookers. Now that they saw it was him though, eyes were rolled and high fives were shared, especially by the Todd, who ran up to him immediately, arm extended.

"Hot nurses dancing five!"

JD raised his hand weakly to be slapped. He didn't actually rub it until the Todd had scurried away.

After the nurses had been told to change into more work appropriate scrubs, Kelso turned on the still shocked – and rather aroused – brunet. "Listen up, Dr. Dorian. As much as I'd love to commend you on experiencing what most men only dream of, this is a hospital, damn it! The last thing we need is someone suing us for open displays of intimacy! There are _children_ in this hospital, for God's sake!"

"I-I didn't ask them to, sir. It just sort of –"

"I don't want to hear it. Just be thankful that no one who would've actually cared was here to witness that, and get the hell back to your patients."

JD nodded hurriedly, standing up from his chair and turning towards his patients' room. Just as he was about to run off, he chanced a quick glance at the nurses' station. None of his friends – Turk, Carla, Elliot, or even Perry – were standing there.

--

Back in Mr. Wenceslas' room, JD slammed the door tight, breathing heavily with his back pressed against its frame.

"Dr. Dorian? You okay…?"

"I, yeah…yeah, I'm okay. Just…wow."

"Is that a bad wow? Am I going to have to be here longer?"

"What? No, no. Sorry about that. Actually, I wanted to check on your vitals, so let me, um…let me do that." JD went about checking the man's vitals, happy to have his brain in doctor mode again. If it stayed in JD mode, he was bound to slip into a million and one fantasies after what had just taken place. "Well, Mr. Wenceslas, your vitals look great. We'll discharge you immediately."

The man before him beamed. "Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate it. But, um…"

JD's eyebrows furrowed, not having expected the latter of his patient's reaction upon hearing the good news. "What is it?"

"I, uh…you probably want to take care of that."

JD followed the man's rather uncomfortable gaze to the ever growing bulge that was making itself known. The young doctor blushed furiously. "I…um…"

"Interesting day?" Mr. Wenceslas asked hesitantly, trying to ease the tension.

JD blushed further, not knowing whether to laugh or to run. He settled on a half embarrassed, half amused giggle. "Something like that, yeah."

--

"Best – present – ever."

Carla swatted the back of Turk's head, not enjoying the way her husband had responded upon hearing what JD's newest gift had been.

"Sluts," the Latina muttered dangerously. "See? This is why people don't respect nurses; because of women like them!"

"A lot of people respect nurses, Carla. I don't think a random group of girls will have a huge impact on –"

"You be quiet, Bambi! You and your free lap dance."

JD clammed up instantly, sinking down further into the couch. "Yes, m'am…"

"I think it's funny," Elliot chimed in. "A little slutty, okay, but still funny."

"I'm surprised you guys weren't there," JD found the courage to comment. "As long as we're all working, we're usually at the nurses' station around the time it happened. You really didn't see anything go down?"

"Nope," Turk answered casually. "I was craving for some java so I ran over to Coffee Bucks, and my baby got paged to help a doctor translate for one of the Spanish speaking patients."

"I was starving so I decided to have lunch early," Elliot answered.

"Well, to be honest, I'm kind of glad you guys _weren't _there. It was sort of embarrassing..."

"But awesome, right?"

Before JD had the chance to respond with a "Hell yeah!" Carla's hand swatted the back of her husband's head yet again. "Don't you answer that, Bambi!"

JD nodded hurriedly, silently hoping that whatever his admirer planned on giving him next wouldn't provoke the wrath of the fiery, Latina nurse.

_**A/N:**_ _Hope you enjoyed! Ten lords a-leaping will be tomorrow. :) Until then!_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: **__Back with chapter ten! As always, thanks so much for all of the support and reviews. They mean a lot to me, and never are they unappreciated. :) Well, here's chapter ten for ya'. Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer:** I own a very large nothing.  
_

**Chapter 10:**

"_On the tenth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Ten lords a-leaping."_

JD, who had just come home from work, threw himself down on the sofa with a thud. His day had been absolutely insane.

His "favorite" hypochondriac, Mr. Myrtle, had come back due to what he thought was liver disease, when really, it was just the lighting from his bathroom that had made his skin look a tinted yellow.

The Janitor had dubbed the day "Jump out from behind the corner every time Scooter passes," day, which wouldn't have been _as_ bad if it really had been, as quoted, "every time." At least he would've gotten used to it and it wouldn't have fazed him much. But the Janitor was inconsistent with his surprise attacks, and so JD never knew when it was the taller man would come out and startle him.

Elliot, for one reason or another, had asked him _at least_ a dozen times when it was he planned on going home. He tried asking her if she wanted a ride back to the apartment, or if she was trying to ask him if he could possibly stay and help out with one of her patients, seeing as how she had quite a number of them today. But she would always shake her head and say, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just frazzled today, you know? I'm just trying to plan the rest of my night according to everyone else's schedule, that's all. So…when are you leaving again?"

Both the Janitor's behavior and Elliot's had made the young doctor a little frazzled himself. He thought he'd been hiding it well, but when he started stumbling over simple little things like IV drips and even bandages, Dr. Cox had given him one of his longest rants to date, telling him he might as well just go home.

And, on top of all that, not a single present from his admirer.

JD was suddenly aware of just how heavy his eyelids really felt. He stole a quick glance out of the window from where he lay, the sunlight still shining in through the blinds. Just a quick nap. He'd be up in half an hour. Just a really quick nap.

--

_JD walked through what felt like a maze of red and green, wondering where on earth he was or how he even got there. He knew he ought to feel more nervous – scared even – but as far as mazes went, it was actually rather comforting. _

_The walls of the maze were constructed of bushes of holly and ivy, and all around its leaves and branches, beautiful, white lights hung glistening. The air smelled of warm vanilla sugar, and the stars above him were shining brightly in the darkened sky. _

_Up ahead, JD finally noticed, was the very tip of a Christmas tree, its star in place; glowing. He knew that was where the end of the maze was. He just had to get there, but how?_

_Getting ready to make his way towards the ever glowing star, a series of hushed voices came from somewhere nearby. JD turned around sharply, eyes wide. "Whose there?" he called out, voice shaking._

_The voices stilled, but something was still amiss. Hadn't he'd gone to bed alone?_

_Right! Bed! He'd been sleeping, which meant this was a dream, which also meant that none of this was real!_

_This new realization calmed him some, and while the voices hadn't been what one would call threatening, he was now ready to wake up. Yet, just as he was getting ready to blink or pinch or whatever it was that needed to be done, a gentle warmth took over him. JD couldn't help but sigh. He'd been getting cold in this maze of his, and the sudden warmth felt good._

_Still, he couldn't help but squirm a little. He needed to wake up, didn't he?_

"_Shhh…Go back to bed, now."_

_JD opened his mouth to retaliate, or to _at least _ask who it was, but fingers were suddenly brushing through his locks, combing away his nerves. "Go back to bed, alright? It's okay."_

_The brunet suddenly found himself lying on the ground, the vibrant, silk like grass making for a good pillow. Was it wise to fall asleep in the middle of such a place? But he felt safe; protected. If something _did _happen, someone would surely be there to make sure he was okay._

--

"Bambi's so cute when he sleeps."

"Pft, you should've seen him in college. If he was tired enough, he'd fall asleep in any corner he'd been studying in. Funny, yeah, but it was a good thing I was there to save his ass. People there were more than up for picking on him while he was out."

"That's horrible!"

"Nah, nothing extreme. But I still didn't want to see my buddy's fingers get dipped in warm water, you know what I'm sayin'?"

JD blinked, suddenly aware he was being watched, and also aware that we was, in fact, the topic of conversation. Rolling onto his back, JD stared up at the two smiling faces. "Turk? Carla? W-What time is it?"

"It's ten o' clock, Bambi."

The brunet's eyes widened in shock. "Ten o' clock!? I fell asleep around 4:00!"

"Don't feel bad, dude. You needed to catch up a little anyway. And besides, it's not _too_ late. We can even watch another Christmas special, if you want to."

"Oh, is Elliot here then?"

Carla shook her head. "She tried to be, but the girl's been running around like crazy all day. By the time she was done with her patients and whatever else, she was exhausted. Anyway, she decided it would probably be better to just go home and get some rest. She says 'hi' though."

JD nodded, stretching his limbs and nodding as he did so. It was true. He'd seen Elliot earlier that day; frazzled and running from one patient to the other. She probably needed to catch up on sleep just as much as he did.

Or rather, _had._ His nap had done wonders.

JD went to stand from the couch, but stopped when he realized a notable difference from when he'd first fallen asleep. "Oh! Did one of you guys bring me this?"

JD held up the large comforter that was usually splayed out across his bed, waving it a little to catch his friends' attention.

"Your comforter?" Carla asked.

"Yeah, did you put it on me while I was sleeping?"

"Not me. Turk?"

The surgeon shook his head. "Nope. Why? What's the big deal?"

"I…don't remember taking it before falling asleep earlier. I sort of just, you know, plopped down on the couch.

Turk just shrugged. "You got me, man."

"Alright, let me just go put this back on the bed and I'll be out in a second."

JD walked over to his room, mind busy pondering over the blanket, so it was safe to say he was in absolutely no way prepared for what he found upon opening his bedroom door.

JD yelled so loudly that Carla, who had been unpacking the dishwasher, dropped the plate she'd been drying. Turk had actually pounced into a fighter's stance, JD's scream of surprise brining him to attention.

But it wasn't a robber or a madman or whatever else his two friends had automatically expected. Upon opening his door, JD had, had a _swarm_ of men burst out and into the living room. All were sporting tights while leaping, one by one, over the living room couch and right out of the apartment door.

The tenth one, however, stopped before JD, who was still sitting on the floor from where he'd fallen, shock all over his face. The man in tights bent down to his level, extending his arm to present him with ten, long stemmed roses. He bowed politely before joining his fellow dancers in leaping over the couch and out of the apartment, closing the door behind them.

The three were silent for what felt like forever, the sudden but not-long-lasting intrusion having frozen them on the spot. Finally, Turk spoke. "What the _hell_ just happened!?"

"T-Ten Lords a-leaping?" JD questioned shakily, voice still a little hesitant from the scare.

"I'd say that's a pretty good guess…" Carla finally intervened while silently thanking whoever made "unbreakable plates."

Turk walked over to JD then, helping his friend get back up on his feet. "Thanks, Chocolate Bear. I just…wow! I mean, I wasn't expecting it, but now that I'm thinking about it…wow! How long do you think they've been _waiting_ in there?"

"Who knows? Carla and I just got home five or so minutes before you woke up, and you've been sleeping all afternoon, right?"

"Wow…I really _am _a heavy sleeper."

Turk laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Yeah, man, you really are. At least for as long as I've known you."

"Bring those over here!" Carla called from the kitchen, and suddenly JD remembered the ten roses he'd been presented with. He'd given flowers as a gift a multitude of times in his life, but never had he received any.

JD walked over to the counter, placing them in the delicate, glass vase that Carla had pulled from under one of the cabinets. "They look beautiful," she commented softly.

"Yeah," JD replied, "they really do."

"Hey, man! Look at your room! Those 'Ten lords,' must've cleaned it while they were waiting!"

JD ran over to the doorframe, laughing when he saw how neat it was. Man, they even dusted! "Do you think it was part of the gift, or do you think they were just bored and wanted something to do while waiting for me to wake up?"

"I don't know, man, but I bet whoever your admirer is was the one to also put your blanket on you. Makes sense, right?"

JD looked down at the comforter he'd dropped on the floor in his surprise, bending over to pick it up and place it on his bed. Turks theory made sense, and JD found himself both touched and annoyed.

It was sweet of whoever was doing this to have made him more comfortable, but part of JD was mad at himself. His admirer had been right in his apartment with him, and yet he hadn't even stirred!

The blue eyed doctor took a long, cleansing breath. No. He'd decided earlier on that he'd wait for whenever his admirer was ready to come out and reveal who they were. It was a good thing he hadn't woken up. It would've ruined all the hard work of whoever was going through all of this to impress him.

"V-Bear?"

Oh, right! He hadn't answered his friend's question. "Yeah, C-Bear, it does make sense. Can you believe whoever this is was actually here with me and I didn't even know it?"

Turk shook his head. "Just barely, V-Bear, just barely."

JD turned and followed his friend out of the room, closing the door behind him. Just two more days till Christmas. Two more days till, hopefully, his admirer would reveal who they were.

_**A/N:**_ _Eleven pipers piping is tomorrow. See you all then! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N:**_ _Merry Christmas Eve! Can you believe Christmas is already tomorrow? I'm not sure I can. lol Anyway, looks like we're winding down here. Only one more chapter after this, which will, as promised, be posted on Christmas day. I've actually been posting each chapter around 12:30am, but I think for the last chapter, I'm going to post it later in the day since that's when the chapter would actually be taking place. Sound good? I hope so. :) And again, I thank you all immensely for the wonderful feedback and reviews. It means a lot to me, I assure you. Anyway, that's about it from me. Hope you enjoy chapter 11!_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 11:**

"_On the eleventh day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Eleven pipers piping."_

"Here you go, buddy."

"Mmm…thanks, C-Bear."

Turk had just come back from Coffee Bucks, and was now presenting his V-Bear with a warm, hazelnut latte. "So, man, what do you thinks gonna happen today? Yesterday's present was, well…"

"Shocking?"

"There ya' go."

JD just shrugged. "I don't know, but I've stopped guessing. I'm just going to trust my admirer and whatever it is they have planned."

Turk nodded, taking a sip from his own cup of coffee. JD leaned further against the nurses' station and sighed. If there was one day he liked better than Christmas, it was Christmas Eve. The anticipation, the excitement – he enjoyed it all, and even more so this year since he was finally able to stay in California rather than being forced to return back home. But now he was looking forward to Christmas even more so than before. Tomorrow, or at least he hoped, he'd be meeting whoever was doing all of this: his secret admirer.

"Merry Christmas Eve!"

Elliot bounced up to both Turk and JD excitedly, sporting a fuzzy Santa hat with her name written across the front in glitter. JD smiled, reaching out to hug her. "Merry Christmas Eve, Elliot. …I like your Santa hat," the brunet commented, hoping his jealousy over the cool Christmas wear didn't showing.

The blonde doctor giggled. "Don't worry, I have one for you too!"

JD held out his hands eagerly, making Elliot chuckle further. She reached behind her back and pulled out the Santa hat with JD's name on the front, placing it on his head with a smile. "There!"

"Oooh," he responded happily, reaching up to feel the red fuzz, "Spiffy!"

"Not cool! What about me?"

Turk suddenly felt a warmth over his head. Carla had snuck up from behind, placing a Santa hat on top of his shiny scalp. "Elliot and I made these last night. We figured you two would want one."

The surgeon turned around to kiss his wife, who was also sporting a hat of her own. "Thanks, baby."

"We made one for Dr. Cox too," Elliot chimed in, "Though I doubt he'd wear it."

"Wear what?"

The four turned towards the familiar voice, its owner looking both disgruntled – but not particularly shocked – at the matching Santa hats that all of them were currently wearing.

"We made you a hat," Elliot answered happily.

"For me? Really!? Oh my God, _thank_ you!"

Turk, Carla, and Elliot all rolled their eyes at the over exaggerated sarcasm. JD, however, did not. He'd been wanting to ask Dr. Cox something since he first found out he'd be able to stay home for the Holidays. He'd never found the chance to though, especially with his mentor's mood being, well, moodier. But now they were just standing there, and JD really couldn't help but ask. "Hey, Dr. Cox?"

"What is it there, Gloria?"

"I…all of us got off for Christmas this year, since none of us were forced to go back home. We're gonna spend the day in our apartment celebrating. You know, real casual. Well, we'll probably go see the tree, but besides that, we're just going to hang out. There's going to be food too. A lot of it. So, um…want to join us? You don't have to stay for the whole time, even. Maybe just an appearance…?"

From the corner of his eye, JD could see his friends' sympathetic expressions, though Turk's looked more annoyed than anything. Everyone knew the older man's answer before he even went into rant mode, but JD still remained hopeful.

"Neva, the only way I'd hee-_ever_ show up at that Christmas party of yours is if Santa broke into my house, kidnapped me, threw me in his magical sack of toys, and forcefully _shoved_ my sorry ass into your apartment, understand?"

JD turned to stare at the floor, nodding silently. Dr. Cox ignored the two glares he was receiving and headed to his next patient's room, not even sparing a second glance at his protégé.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made the brunet turn away from the tile he'd chosen to stare at. He lifted his head and turned himself around to look at Carla, whose eyes were shining with sympathy. "Don't worry, Bambi. It's not you; it's this time of year. He's just barely nice to me when December hits, okay?"

"I don't care," Turk cut in before JD could respond. "The guy's being a total asshole. If he doesn't want to celebrate, okay, that's fine. But he doesn't have to suck the cheer out of everybody else. All JD did was invite him."

"It's okay, C-Bear, really. He's frustrated. It's hard to stay in the spirit when you work here. You know that…"

Turk did, and JD could tell from his expression that he was reflecting on his first year at Sacred Heart. Finally, the surgeon sighed. "Yeah, buddy, I know. I just wish he wouldn't take it out on you like that."

JD shrugged. "Think of it this way: He trusts me enough to know I won't start hating him because of his attitude. That's something, right?"

Turk just shrugged, but JD's optimism after being rejected was returning. Up until now, he'd never thought of his mentor's behavior towards him in such a way, but it was a reassuring thought nonetheless.

JD turned towards Elliot, who was fiddling with Dr. Cox's hat, looking a little downcast. "I knew he wouldn't wear it, but I know how much you want him to admit to being your mentor, and the thought of the two of you wearing the hats just –"

"Elliot, it's okay, alright? Let's just get through our shifts so we can have fun later."

"Which will be followed up by a whole day of relaxation and Christmas cookies," Turk cut in then, his excitement returning.

JD grinned broadly. "Exactly, SCB, exactly."

--

A few hours after the whole Santa hat incident, JD once again found himself at the nurses' station. He was sucking happily on a candy cane while talking amiably with Carla, when he spotted Kelso and ten other board members following stiffly behind him and into the board room. "What's going on?" JD asked curiously.

"The board is having a meeting about new goals and ideas for the up-coming year. As always, I'm sure there will be plenty of new budget cuts…"

JD sighed, fiddling with the ball of cotton that hung from his Santa hat. "Yeah, probably. But that's to be expected, I guess."

A sudden voice, loud and demanding, startled the two out of their conversation. "Dr. Dorian! Could I see you for a moment? The board needs to discuss something with you."

JD turned, all the color from his face draining. He stared at Dr. Kelso for a long moment, who was looking at him rather impatiently, smoking his pipe like it wasn't at all hypocritical for a doctor to do so. "I, um…I-I'm coming."

"Well hurry up then!" Kelso barked, and then he was back inside the board room.

JD turned to Carla, clearly horrified. "Why do they want to see me? What did I _do!?_"

"I don't know, but relax, okay? If you were in trouble, you would've been told about it before the meeting even started. Just stay calm, alright? I would go in there soon though, or Dr. Kelso will probably pop a vein."

JD swallowed hard. "Right, okay…I'm calm, I'm calm, I'm calm."

The brunet walked over to the door and opened it hesitantly, realizing all at once that he was, in fact, not calm at all.

--

JD stood in front of the long, narrow table of board members, hoping the table was high enough so that none of them could see the slight shaking of his knees. All were staring at him, smoking those damn pipes that were making JD want to hack up a lung.

"Dr. Dorian," Kelso started, "It has come to my attention that over the past ten days, you have been on the receiving end of some very strange gifts, one of which I will admit to being jealous of."

JD recalled Kelso's presence during the "Nine Ladies Dancing," gift, and tried to retain himself from grinning. He chose to answer with a simple but polite, "Yes, sir."

"So it is my duty to inform you –"

JD swallowed. Oh, God, here it comes. For one reason or another, he was going to get in trouble for this. It wasn't his fault though! He didn't ask his admirer to do all of this. And, as strange as the thought was, he didn't want them to find out who his admirer was and get them in trouble either. Whoever this was had gone through so much trouble already trying to impress him. It wouldn't be right!

"So it is my duty to inform you a clichéd but simple, 'Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.'"

JD looked up from staring at his shoes, blue eyes wide and ears seriously doubting what he'd just heard. "I…what?"

Kelso reached down, pulling up a neatly wrapped parcel from under his chair. "Don't ask me whatever it is you're tempted to ask me, Sport, because as much as it pains me, I can't say a word. Just take whatever the hell is in this box and scram."

JD scurried over to his newest present, taking it with an appreciative nod to Kelso and the rest of the board before hurrying out of the room. It was only till after he closed the door did he realize the significance of all eleven board members smoking casually on their pipes.

--

"Open it, open it, open it!"

JD, Turk, Carla, and Elliot were gathered at the nurses' station. JD had paged them all immediately, and the blonde doctor was now bouncing up and down excitedly, urging JD to open his newest gift. "C'mon, JD! I want to see what it is!"

"Okay, okay! Here we go..." The brunet tore into the paper, his curiosity over what it could be more than just a little obvious. When he finally removed the paper and its ribbons, JD was met with a very pretty looking plant.

"Mistletoe," Carla chimed in, sensing the yet-to-be-asked question on JD's face. "It's a mistletoe. A pretty one too!"

"Look, there!" Elliot chimed in excitedly, pointing to the small note attached to the Christmas-y plant. JD picked it up, getting ready to read the typed up message aloud, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. "'Not to be used till Christmas Day.'"

Turk was grinning now too, as Elliot's eyebrows began wiggling suggestively. "That's my dawg!" the surgeon shouted happily. "You're so getting some, dude."

Elliot stopped grinning to poke the surgeon in the chest. "Just because his admirer wants to kiss him doesn't mean they automatically want to sex him up."

"Just saying…" Turk mumbled.

JD carefully placed the mistletoe back into the box, putting the lid on just as gently. "Not to be used till Christmas Day," it had read. Christmas Day…tomorrow. JD was both extremely nervous and extremely excited. Tomorrow he'd be receiving his last gift from the song, but tomorrow was also the day, if his guess had been right, that he'd be meeting his admirer.

If he thought he was looking forward to Christmas before, well…he was certainly looking forward to it now.

_**A/N:**_ _Well, tomorrow's the last and final chapter. Can you believe it? Until then, Merry Christmas Eve!_


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: **__MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you're all enjoying your day so far! :) And wow, can you believe we're already on the last chapter here? I really hope you guys enjoy the ending, despite the various outcomes it could be. I will say this though: I was serious in the first author's note when I said I viewed this story as a Christmas present to all of my readers and reviewers this year, so thank you all immensely for all the kind words, and I do hope you enjoy it. Anyway, here's the finale. Merry Christmas!_

_**Quick Note:**_ _There's a pretty massive author's note at the end of this, and it would be really appreciated if you gave it a read. Thanks!_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own a very large nothing._

**Chapter 12:**

"_On the twelfth day of Christmas,  
My true love sent to me,  
Twelve drummers drumming,  
Eleven pipers piping,  
Ten lords a-leaping,  
Nine ladies dancing,  
Eight maids a-milking,  
Seven swans a-swimming,  
Six geese a-laying,  
Five golden rings!  
Four calling birds,  
Three French hens,  
Two turtle doves,  
And a partridge in a pear tree!"_

JD was sitting under the tree, surrounded by his friends and a heavy amount of unwrapped presents. Turk had been the first to awaken, in which he promptly awoke his wife and his two best friends. Elliot had been invited to spend the night, allowing her to spend the whole Christmas day with her friends instead of having to come over later.

JD watched from his spot on the floor as Turk went about clasping the necklace around the Latina woman's neck. It was the gift the surgeon had been eagerly awaiting for to come in the mail; the night where it had ended up being JD's basket of pears instead.

JD closed his eyes, thinking back on the day his admirer had sent him his first present based off of "The 12 Days of Christmas." It felt like weeks ago now, but really, only eleven days had passed since the brunet had received his first present. Now it was Christmas day itself, and as much fun as JD was already having, he was admittedly and undeniably nervous.

"JD?"

The doe eyed doctor turned towards the hesitant voice of his friend, smiling at the obvious concern her eyes held. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just nervous about today, you know? Not really about what the present will be: I've learned to trust my admirer when it comes to that. But I'm nervous about _who_ the admirer will be, or how they plan on telling me who they are. But what if I'm wrong all together? What if they _never_ plan on telling me who they are?"

Elliot smiled comfortingly, taking a seat next to her friend on the floor by the tree. "JD, I'm sure whoever's gone through all of this trouble just to show you how much they care wouldn't just leave you hanging. That'd make no sense! And as far as who they are, what about that worries you?"

The doe eyed doctor fiddled with a loose piece of thread on the hem of his pajamas. It'd been a thought he had ever since receiving his "Ten lords a-leaping," present, but it was one he'd yet to express. Finally, JD spoke. "This whole time…I've been imagining my admirer as someone I didn't know. Maybe a new nurse or something that thought I was cute and just didn't know how to tell me until now. Maybe someone I've talked to once or twice but just didn't remember, and they wanted to get my attention in a way that would show me how much they liked me. But when I realized that it was my admirer who put that blanket on me while I was sleeping, I…it sounds weird I guess, but I felt like whoever it was, was somebody that I already knew pretty well, you know? The gesture was comforting, but also…personal. Like whoever this is doesn't just have a crush, but…but really _cares_ about me, you know?"

Elliot nodded, her expression clearly taking in JD's words. "I understand, JD, I do, but why does that make you nervous?"

"Because, I…I don't know how I'm going to react. What if I end up hurting them? What if I don't feel for them what they obviously feel for me? Or what if they reveal themselves, suddenly realize it's _me_ who they're dealing with, and decide the whole thing's just been a huge mistake?"

"JD…I highly doubt whoever's doing this would suddenly call it a mistake. And even if your admirer turns out to be someone you already know, or someone you don't have immense feelings for, wouldn't you still give them a chance?"

JD nodded. "I would. I realized earlier this week that I would. But I don't want it to be fake either, Elliot. I want to be…I want to be happy it's them. Whoever it is. I don't want us to just end up going on a couple of coffee dates and me having to wave goodbye."

Elliot reached over to rub JD's back soothingly, doing her best to calm away his nerves. "Don't worry about that right now, okay? You'll know when the time comes. You'll know, JD. You'll know what to do."

The brunet smiled gratefully, taking in Elliot's reassurance and allowing himself to relax. After all, it _was_ Christmas, and he was extremely excited to be there with his friends. "Thanks, Elliot. I appreciate it."

The blonde doctor smiled. "Any time."

--

It was dinner time, and doctors, surgeon, and nurse, were sitting around the table, eating appreciatively of all the things Carla had taken the time to cook up for them.

"Baby, you have out _done_ yourself!"

Carla beamed at the compliment, reaching over to place a giant peck on her husband's cheek. "Thank you, baby. And Elliot? Bambi?"

"Amazing, Carla, seriously."

Elliot nodded her immediate agreement. "I wish I could cook like this! But I'm only good at certain things. Apple pie, apple bread, or apple centered –"

"Anyway, Bambi, looking forward to tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Your admirer, dude!" Turk cut in. "Aren't you looking forward to your last present? Or _at least_ how they plan on telling you who they are?"

"To be honest, I was really nervous about it before. Well, I still am, but I'm a lot calmer now. I've trusted my admirer so far, so I shouldn't stop trusting them now, right?"

Carla nodded her approval. "Right."

A sudden knock at the door startled the four from their conversation. JD suddenly found all eyes on him, waiting for him to get up and answer what was obviously meant for him to retrieve.

"Go on, Bambi," Carla said, nodding towards the door. "You know it's for you."

JD nodded, heart racing wildly. Was this it? Was his admirer just going to show up at his apartment as the twelfth gift themselves? But when JD finally _did_ open the door, he was proven wrong in a heart beat. At least, he thought when his butt collided with the floor, he didn't shout as loudly this time.

Twelve drummers – professional, from the look and sound of it – marched into the apartment together, all in step as they did so. They circled JD as he remained on the floor, stunned and staring up at them. They wore outfits like one would see in a marching band, except their colors were red and ivy green; the bottom of their hats trimmed with ivy. JD continued to stare as the twelve finally turned to leave, but the last one, much like the tenth lord a-leaping, stayed behind. Without a word, he removed the top of his drum and reached inside, pulling out a small, black safe. He handed this to the still slightly shaken brunet with a smile before turning to depart with the others, closing the door as he left.

Knees still a little wobbly, JD stood carefully from the floor, clutching the safe to his chest as he did so.

"You alright, buddy?" Turk asked as he stood from the table, making his way over to help out his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Startled, but what's new about that? In retrospect, I should have seen that one coming. This though…" JD stopped to hold out the small safe for his friends to see, "This though, I didn't expect. A safe? What am I supposed to do with it?"

Carla rolled her eyes. "Call me crazy, but I'm guessing you should open it."

"Yeah, but how? It's a _safe,_ Carla. A safe that clearly needs a combination to get into. A combination that I don't have."

"Look on the bottom!" Elliot chimed in, doing her best to help. "The combination could be there."

JD flipped it over to see if her guess was right, but he found absolutely nothing. The brunet sighed, frustrated. "I don't understand. Something's gotta be in it that I need, but why not just give it to me? Why a safe? I guess it'd make sense if I actually had the numbers to open it, but –" JD stopped mid sentence, the realization of his gift, of an _earlier_ gift, hitting him all at once.

"JD?"

"I do, you guys! I do have the numbers for it!"

JD sprang to his room, leaving the safe on the table for his friends to ponder over. It only took him a second to find the post-it note he'd written the seven numbers on that he had originally found painted in the middle of each of his seven swans a-swimming. "Here!" JD exclaimed excitedly, waving the small piece of paper as he bounced out of his room. "The numbers on the swans, remember? They've got to be the numbers to the safe!"

The three beamed, clearly excited by JD's revelation and hopeful that it was, in fact, right. The brunet entered the numbers as quickly as possible, curiosity about what awaited him inside finally getting to him. It was a little hard, however, when his hands continued to shake with nerves.

Finally, the numbers were entered. Holding his breath, JD took hold of the handle and twisted.

The safe opened immediately; no squeaky protests whatsoever.

The three on-lookers instantly untensed, happy that JD's idea had indeed been correct. Now the big question was what, exactly, laid inside.

JD peered into the opening, noticing instantly the small piece of paper that lay in its center; a red, silk ribbon tied neatly around its middle. The doctor pulled it out with shaky hands, untying the ribbon quickly. When he finally opened it though, JD's hands just continued on in their shaking, excitement and nervousness now completely coursing through his body.

In neatly typed up lettering, the note read a simple: "_Tonight on the roof. 11:00pm. I'll meet you there."_

JD swallowed, handing the note for his friends to pass around, as he stared up at the clock on their wall. Eight thirty pm. His admirer had left him just enough time to get ready.

"Bambi?" Carla finally asked after all three were done reading the note. "Are you okay?"

JD didn't even hesitate before spilling out his worries. "I'm excited! And nervous! And, and…what roof? Where? No. No, I know that. Sacred Heart's roof. It's gotta be. But, but…what am I supposed to say when I meet them? What do I do? And what does somebody wear when going to meet the person whose been secretly sending them gifts over the past twelve days!?"

"As to what you say and do, well…that's really up to you," Carla answered calmly. "But as to what you wear? I think your admirer already answered that for you."

It took JD a moment to realize the meaning of the Latina woman's words, but once he did, he couldn't help but grin, despite the nerves still coursing through him. Of course! The outfit from the "Eight maids a-milking!" He had to go get ready. He had to go to Sacred Heart. But before all of that, he had to go take a shower. He'd taken one earlier that morning, but now that he was getting ready to go meet his admirer, well…if whoever it was liked the scent of warm vanilla shampoo, then he was damn sure gonna use warm vanilla shampoo.

--

JD stood on the roof of Sacred Heart Hospital, rubbing his hands together nervously. It was almost eleven o' clock at night, and the Christmas butterflies were causing quite a storm at the base of his stomach. The night, however, was beautiful. The air was crisp with cold, but not so much that it made the weather uncomfortable. Lights trimmed the roof of the hospital, and as JD looked out and stared at the city before him, he could see the star at the top of the parks Christmas tree, along with the many various houses that had decorated their homes for the holidays.

JD was so lost in his silent contemplation (having chosen to think about his surroundings rather than who his admirer was, considering he was already extremely and utterly nervous) that he did not notice the sound of the roof door being opened.

"Newbie."

JD whirled around, almost tipping over in the process. What was Dr. Cox doing here? He could've sworn he had off too. "Dr. Cox? What are you doing here?"

The older man smirked. "Sorry to have disturbed your overly-sentimental contemplation there, Angel."

JD took in a long, cleansing breath, a little relieved that he hadn't just made a fool of himself in front of his admirer. He was used to making a fool of himself in front of his mentor, though. "So what are you doing here, Dr. Cox? And - oh! Are you meeting someone up here too?"

JD, for the first time upon his mentor's arrival, noticed what it was the curly haired man was wearing. A black suit jacket and pants, much like his own, with the same grey t-shirt JD had seen him wear on other fancier occasions.

When the brunet looked back up at his mentor, expecting some sort of answer, he was met with only a…a look. A look JD couldn't quite place. Blue eyes locked in with his own, making the younger of the two flush. What? What did he do? And what was that look on Perry's face? It was…was that…disappointment maybe? Restraint? He couldn't tell, but –

"I was going too," the older man answered suddenly, lips strangely tight, "but I decided to just let them blow it out their ass, so here's ridden to ya', Newbie. Hope you have a fan_tas_tic Christmas."

JD winced as his mentor was gone in a flash, the roof door slamming closed behind him. What the _hell_ just happened!? For a moment, JD thought of running after him, thinking that maybe if he invited him back to their apartment for their Christmas gathering one more time, then just maybe he'd take him up on his offer. But Dr. Cox had already, and very clearly, declined his earlier invite.

And besides, it was already a little past eleven. If he left now, then surely he would miss his admirer.

--

It was quarter after, and still no sight or sound from JD's secret admirer. The brunet hugged himself tightly, a fear he had from close to the beginning of this grand adventure coming to fruition: He had gotten stood up.

Whoever his admirer was, _had_ been, had left him hanging, most likely after realizing who it was they'd been sending secret presents to. JD wanted to cry. He didn't, but he really, really wanted to.

What did he do wrong? When, exactly, had his admirer lost interest? There was no way it was just a matter of being late. So far, they'd been on point about everything. They wouldn't start slacking at the last minute. But no one showed up. No one. The only person to have come to the roof was Dr. Cox, but that was just –

Oh, _shit!_

JD turned around sharply to face the roof's door, blue eyes wide with realization. Maybe, if he stared long enough, the older man would just conjure himself back into place.

But that was impossible. And now, yet another one of JD's fears was coming true: He just absolutely _crushed_ the person who had gone through such lengths to show him he actually cared. And not by rejecting him, but by not even _acknowledging_ that Dr. Cox was just as big of a possibility as any other person that could have potentially been his secret admirer.

But now what? What was he supposed to do? Suddenly, JD was recalling a conversation he'd had earlier that morning; a conversation with a certain blonde doctor: "_You'll know when the time comes. You'll know, JD. You'll know what to do."_

Without another moment's hesitation, JD ran.

--

He was there in the hospital parking lot, having just gotten into his car. JD dashed for the Porsche, swallowing a mouthful of fear as he heard the vehicle come to life, its driver slowly beginning to back it out of its parking space.

"No!" JD shouted hurriedly, but just as he was beginning to think it was too late, he took another giant leap in his run, practically throwing his entire body onto the front window of Perry's prized possession.

Out of breath and dizzy, yes, but JD was still aware enough to see the older man startle – an extremely rare sight – and still very aware enough to hear him mutter a string of curses before climbing angrily out of his car.

"Newbie! What the _HELL!?_"

JD rolled off the car awkwardly, throwing his hands in front of his body as he waved them about wildly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was just trying to keep you from leaving. I didn't scratch it, did I? If I did, I'll pay for it, alright? But I had to find you before you left. I just –"

"Can it, Newbie. If you're here to yet again invite me to what sounds like thee most God-awful Christmas party to ever exist, I really don't –"

"It was you, wasn't it?"

Perry's eyebrows shot up, not very used to being cut off mid-rant by his protégé. Instead of yelling though, the older man chose to cross his arms and flick his nose, jaw becoming tight once again. "Elaborate," he demanded.

JD bit back a sigh, remembering yet again how stubborn his mentor was. "It was you, wasn't it? All this time…you've been sending me those presents, haven't you? You're…you're my secret admirer…"

A long silence encased them both, and JD couldn't help but watch the string of emotions that went through the older man's eyes. Yet his body remained the same: Cold, stiff, and looking as though its biggest fear was to be broken. "Yes," he answered finally, stern but quiet. "Yeah, Newbie, it was me. But as you can see, I'm trying to leave here with my dignity intact, so if you could just –"

"I was happy!"

Dr. Cox stopped, staring at the young man before him cautiously. "What…?"

"I was happy, Dr. Cox, when I realized it was you. I was scared that I wasn't going to catch you on time when I realized you were my admirer; I was confused that it _was_ you, in since, well…it's you! And you're kinda, well…you! But the whole time I was running, I never once stopped and thought, 'What are you doing? He's your mentor! He's a guy! He's _Dr. Cox!'_ I just kept running, scared that I wouldn't catch you on time. And it wasn't just out of the fear that I had hurt you, either. It was…I was happy it was you. I was, Dr. Cox. I promise."

"…That was quite an impressive rant there, Holly."

JD smiled. "It was, wasn't it? So please don't go. I'm sorry it didn't even occur to me. It just…it didn't. I'm dense like that."

"You don't have to tell me that, Newbie…"

"But you've been harsher than usual anyway, and I just…it didn't click, that's all…"

JD watched, muscles tensed with anticipation, as the older man closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the night's winter air. Finally, his arms dropped to his side, though one of his hands reached up for his head and began to massage their lightly. "Alright, Gloria, alright. I won't go yet. Just…what do you expect me to say, here?"

JD thought on this question, and it didn't take him long at all to know what it was he felt the need to ask. "How?"

"What?"

"How did you pull all of this off? I mean…the planning, the presents, the time, the places…how did you do it?"

Perry smirked, his ego inflating at the more than impressed tone from his protégé. "I'm amazing, aren't I?"

JD rolled his eyes playfully. "Seriously though. How did you do it?"

"I admittedly had some help. I mean c'mon, Newbie. What did you expect? Can you honestly see me combing through a clothes store for 'Just the right outfit?' Please. I am see-_hoe_ not that guy. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn't too sure about this little plan of hers either, but once she gets an idea in her head, she just can't let it go. 'But Bambi loves romantic stuff! And if you do this, especially around Christmas time, he'll be able to see how serious you are!'" he imitated in a higher tone.

"_Carla!? _Carla _knew!? _All this time!?"

"You bet, Josephine."

JD shook his head. Tricksy, tricksy nurse. "Okay, so Carla helped. Anyone else?"

Dr. Cox gritted his teeth in annoyance, the next name clearly paining him to say out loud. "Beelzebub. Eleven pipers piping was a hard one, damn it, and I needed him to get you in there. Now I have to work five weekends in a row…"

JD bit back a half appreciative, half amused grin. "Okay, so that's it then?"

"No. One more. Lurch."

JD's eyes practically popped out of his head. "_Janitor!?_"

"I got Soap Scrub to open up your locker so I could put those two doves in there, and then I got him to open it later so I could stick that candy in there too. He was also the one who convinced that weird guy Troy not to tell you who I was. That, and not to spit in your food. He was _also_ supposed to keep an eye on you and let me in on when it was safe to come into your apartment so I could paint those damn swans, but he got distracted by a squirrel and went to catch it for God only knows what. When he told me about it later, it's safe to say I yelled. Shrek didn't take too kindly to that, and ended up taking his anger out on Ted. But then Carla told me that black wife of yours was on his way home, and I figured he'd get you out of the apartment, even if he was clueless as to whatever role he'd be playing in this whole crazy fiasco."

JD stared, wide eyed. "I…I can't believe you actually _told_ people about this."

"Sort of…Carla guessed a couple of months ago that I –"

"_Months!?_"

"Be quiet, Newbie. Carla guessed, and when I couldn't stand a second more of her poking around in my business, I snapped. But then – God, I can't believe I'm about to say this – but then she got me…she got me _talking_ to her about it. It was annoying as hell, yeah, but for once she kept something 'juicy' to herself, and promised not to tell a soul. And then when December hit, she came up with the '12 Days of Christmas,' thing."

"So…" JD started, hoping the disappointment in his voice didn't show, "None of this was really done by you?"

Dr. Cox just rolled his eyes. "Give me _some_ credit, Newbie. Sure, I needed help setting some of it up, and yes, Carla picked out the outfit, because that is just nee-_hot_ my game, but I came up with the other ideas and how to do them. Though the whole thing almost went through the roof on the tenth day…"

"The 'Ten lords a-leaping?' What do you mean? I was shocked, yeah, but the gift worked just fine."

"You almost woke up, kid. Carla told me you had gone home feeling tired, so I waited a while, hoping you'd fallen asleep. I was right, but I had to tell those dancers a million and one times to be quiet before going in. And whaddya' know! The damn bastards couldn't stop whispering. You started mumbling and squirming, so I had to talk you back to sleep."

"You put a blanket on me too…" JD added, trying not to flush.

"Yeah, I did… Don't you give me that 'how cute,' look, Sparkles. You were shivering. What the hell was I supposed to do!?"

But JD only smiled further, seeing straight through the older man's hard ass façade. "Okay, I have to ask," he suddenly said, remembering yet another one of his questions, "What was with the nine nurses dancing?"

Perry smirked mischievously. "Enjoyed that, did you?"

JD rolled his eyes. "C'mon, tell me! Why throw on a sex show when it's _you_, you want me to be paying attention to?"

To the young doctor's surprise, the older man's grin only widened. "Because once you're with me, Newbie, you're never going back to the ladies again, so I thought I'd let you say goodbye to the girls with a bang. Besides, you're girl enough for the both of us."

Choosing to ignore his last comment, JD reached into his pocket, pulling out the Christmas corsage he had hidden there. "So this? Um…am I supposed to give this to you or something?"

Perry's eyes popped. "_Me!?_ Hell no! That's for _you._"

"But…but girls wear corsages!"

"Like I said before: You're girl enough for the both of us."

Before JD could respond though, he remembered an earlier question from before, one which the older man had never fully addressed. "You still haven't told me why you were so comfortable with telling people about this, Dr. Cox…"

Perry sighed. "JD…would it make any sense to go through all of this only to hide whatever the hell it is we'd be doing? That's just straight out moronic."

"I'm not sure if 'straight' is the right word…"

"It is. Because you're a girl."

"So," the young doctor started again, "You're…you're really serious about this, aren't you? I mean…I want to. To try. I just…it's you, you know? I know you have a past with Jordan, and I don't, I mean…Are you sure? Because I'm not sure if you're really –"

JD was cut off abruptly with a kiss, surprisingly gentle for the person it was coming from. When Perry pulled away, much to the younger man's disappointment, the older doctor was grinning. "Do I look unsure? And put that pout away there, Tinsel. We'll have more of that kind of thing later. I'm sure you can recall a certain mistletoe."

JD could feel his cheeks turning red, hoping it was too dark for the older man to notice. "Oh…"

"Oh."

A long silence followed them both then, until JD finally found the courage to speak. "Hey, Dr. Cox?"

"Perry, Newbie, and what is it?"

JD decided to have a happy dance over being called by his real name earlier and getting the permission to do like wise when Dr. Cox – _Perry_ – wasn't looking. "Do you think we could go back to the apartment? I think both Elliot and Turk would really like to know who my admirer turned out to be."

Dr. Cox nodded, though his face still had an expression of wary hesitance. "Sure, Newbie." The older man stopped suddenly, an amused chuckle escaping him. "What do you think Milk Dud will say?"

"He'll be supportive no matter what, just as long as he's kept hidden from any and all details."

"I'll have to remember that for when I want to torture him. And Barbie?"

"Same, except she'll probably _want_ to know the details."

"Which she never will."

"I hadn't planned on it, but okay. Oh, and Dr. Cox?"

"Yeah, Newbie, what is it?"

"Merry Christmas."

To JD's surprise, the curly haired doctor reached over, taking the younger man's hand in his own. "Merry Christmas, Newbie."

_**-Fin-**_

_**A/N:**_ _Well, there it is! Alright, explanation time: First, I was going to have the one receiving the presents be none other than Dr. Cox himself, as I absolutely love writing for him. But then I figured the only person that would do that for him, and have it make sense, would be JD, which in turn would be way too obvious. So then I figured that if it wasn't Dr. Cox who'd be receiving the gifts, it would be JD, which leaves a lot of options open as to who it could be. Then I sat and thought for a long time whether or not I wanted it to be Elliot or Perry. (Trust me; it was not a five minute decision) But then, before I even thought of the rest of the story, I came up with the ending: I realized I wanted to have the admirer show up at the selected spot when revealing themselves, be right in front of JD, and have the poor kid not even realize it was them. I knew this before even knowing who I wanted the admirer to be, but when I came to that conclusion, I realized that would make the most sense if it was, in fact, Dr. Cox. If Elliot had been the one to show up, I believe JD would've known it almost instantly. _

_I know a lot of you thought "My Love Potion," was going to be my first attempt at slash ever (though it is also JD/Elliot) To be honest, so did I. In fact, it was going to be my first Scrubs story with any specific pairing ever, but I thought of that months before this story, and I thought going back to my profile and changing the description would be too obvious as well._

_Also, please do not think that this means I will stop writing mentor/protégé – father/son fics, such as "My Hypnotism" and "My Second Childhood." I love writing those two with the father and son dynamic. I couldn't stop even if I tried. :)_

_Anyway, I know this was a really long explanation, but I felt the need to let you guys know what I was thinking when it came to all of this._

_But yes – I think I've rambled long enough, don't you? Merry Christmas to all of you, and I hope you enjoyed the story! :) Until next time!_


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